


Just One Year

by whitehorsetiger



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Developing Relationship, Fluff, Friendship, M/M, Present Day AU, Realisation of feelings, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-13
Updated: 2019-11-14
Packaged: 2020-05-07 09:30:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 14
Words: 37,599
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19206625
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whitehorsetiger/pseuds/whitehorsetiger
Summary: Allura’s New Year’s parties were usually pretty big events; anyone who knew her wanted to be there. They’d sort of mellowed out after college, but were usually still pretty popular. This year though, after the absolute garbage year they’d all had, it was a much more… quiet affair.After one of the worst years of his life, Lance just wants to forget it and move on with his life. That is until someone unexpected turns up at the new years party. He hadn't seen Keith in two years and the other man has seemed to have changed massively. Little does Lance know, this is just the start of a very confusing year. Well, it couldn't possibly be worse than the previous year...





	1. New Year's

Allura’s New Year’s parties were usually pretty big events; anyone who knew her wanted to be there. They’d sort of mellowed out after college, but were usually still pretty popular. This year though, after the absolute garbage year they’d all had, it was a much more… quiet affair.

Everyone was very subdued, the weight of the past year still pressing down on them. Allura’s house was huge, but everyone had congregated in the kitchen. Lance flitted between them, chatting, smiling, and just doing his best to get everyone to laugh.

“No come on, Lance,” Pidge said, chuckling, “There’s no way in hell.”

“I can’t believe you’d think so little of me,” Lance retorted, fake-gasping and putting a hand on his chest, “How dare you accuse me of lying!”

“I’m not saying you’re lying. Just exaggerating. Come on.”

Lance made a huffing noise, turning his nose up. Allura giggled from her perch on one of the barstools, and Lance almost breathed out a sigh of relief. Allura had been miserable all night, and for most of the last month honestly. After all, it hadn’t been that long since… Anyway, Lance had been trying, unsuccessfully, to get her to smile all night. Although her giggling probably had something to do with the drink she was currently cradling. He probably should have been keeping a better eye on her alcohol intake.

Lance was pulled from that train of thought when Hunk creaked opened one of the cupboards, taking out a box of biscuits.

“Yes!” Shiro cheered, immediately making a grab for the box.

Looks like it wasn’t just Allura’s drinking Lance should’ve kept an eye on.

Hunk dodged nimbly out of the way, opening the lid before placing them in the centre of the counter.

“It’s not even that late,” Lance commented, rolling his eyes, “Who gave them free access to the liquor cabinet?”

“This is Allura’s house so…” Pidge shrugged. “Herself?”

“Woo! Liquor!” Matt shouted suddenly, throwing his arms into the air. He almost tumbled backwards off his chair, swaying dangerously.

“I get those two,” Lance said, gesturing to Shiro and Allura, “But what’s his excuse?”

“What’s Matt’s excuse for anything? He just can.”

“Well… those three will be fun to get to bed,” Hunk said, wandering over, “We’re cutting them off.”

“Ah come on, Hunk,” Lance said with a grin, “You gotta have champagne at midnight.”

Hunk’s eyebrow twitched up. “Other than that, we’re cutting them off.”

Lance saluted as Pidge nodded.

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” she said with a shrug.

Suddenly, the doorbell rang. The trio froze, glancing at each other.

“Are we expecting someone else?” Lance asked with a frown.

“Who would come calling this late?” Hunk asked back.

The two of them shrugged at each other. Allura, a bit slower to respond than usual, stood up to answer the door. Almost immediately she stumbled, Lance darting forwards to catch her.

“You know what, you sit down and we’ll get that,” Lance said, smiling, “Alright?”

Allura blinked, clinging to his top. Eventually she nodded.

“I’ll get it,” Hunk said.

Lance sat Allura back down on her stool. She swayed a little but stabilised herself quick enough.

“Okay… a little more drunk than I thought,” Lance noted.

Pidge shrugged. “Can’t say I was watching them.”

“Guys!” Hunk exclaimed, peeking around the doorframe, “You will not believe who it is!”

“Ooo!” Lance bounced up. “Tell us! Tell us!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “It won’t be that exciting.”

Hunk grinned, before stepping in… followed by the last person Lance was expecting.

It had been two years. Two long years and Lance had honestly thought he’d never see the other man again. He was taller, bulkier, with longer hair and a new scar on his cheek. There was no mistaking him though. None at all.

“Keith!” everyone shouted, some with a bit more of a drunken slur than others.

Keith smiled, looking a little bit awkward standing in the doorframe. Everyone stood up and stumbled forwards, pulling him inside and enveloping him in a tight hug. Lance, however, didn’t move a muscle. He should be thrilled, so damn excited to see Keith again. Hell, there was a time when he thought Keith might be dead. Lance was not though. Not excited, not thrilled, not even happy. Instead, all he felt was pure, surging anger.

Lance was shocked by his own intense reaction, maybe there was some happiness in there… squashed right down at the bottom. All he could feel right now though was fury. But everyone else was smiling and laughing, so instead of confronting the problem, Lance remained rooted to the spot. Luckily no one noticed Lance’s lack of movement, too busy catching up with Keith… goddamn it, Keith.

****

Lance spent the rest of the night avoiding Keith. It wasn’t particularly difficult, everyone was a little tipsy and no one noticed if Lance dodged out of the way whenever Keith got close. By the time midnight hit, it didn’t really matter anymore; everyone had drunk far too much to notice much of anything. Allura was practically asleep, draped across the arm of the sofa. Shiro was sat on the ground, eyes drooping as he leant against the sofa. Matt was catatonic, out on the floor. He was still breathing at least.

Lance had leant himself against Hunk, with Pidge leant against him. The three of them were swaying to the music. Keith was splayed out in one of the chairs, smiling softly. Lance darted his eyes away before anger could rise in his chest again.

Keith hadn’t been there. He hadn’t been there when Shiro had lost his fiancé. He hadn’t been there when Hunk’s parents ended up in the ICU. He hadn’t been there when Pidge had lost her dog, Rover. He hadn’t been there when Lance had been denied his dream job. He hadn’t been there when Allura turned up on Lance’s doorstep, sobbing out that she’d caught her long-term boyfriend in bed with another woman. Keith _hadn’t been there_.

Ten… The new year hadn’t even started yet.

Nine… It was going to be just fantastic.

Eight… It couldn’t possibly be worse than last year.

Seven… Well, it could.

Six… He should not think of that possibility.

Five… This year was going to be better.

Four… Whether or not Keith stayed.

Three… Yeah, Keith would probably leave again.

Two… At least then Lance wouldn’t have to deal with him.

One… Well, here’s to a better next year.

“Happy New Year!”


	2. January

January was… well, January. It was cold, dreary, and just a bit miserable. That left Lance cold… dreary… and just a bit miserable. The loss of his dream job still stung a little. He should’ve been out on the ocean right now. Instead, he was stuck in his tiny apartment—Hunk having moved out to live with his girlfriend—with his soul-sucking job. Speaking of…

Alright, maybe being a waiter wasn’t the worst thing in the world. There was probably something worse, he couldn’t think of anything, but there probably was. Honestly, his co-workers made it tolerable. He supposed it was for the best. He couldn’t just up and leave his cats… even though he’d had plans to send them to live with his mum… No… he couldn’t leave his cats. That’s why not getting his dream job was… not so bad.

“Is that Keith in your section?” Plaxum asked, snapping Lance out of his thoughts.

“What?” Lance said with a slight groan, “You have got to be…”

He peered around the corner and… there was a very familiar head of hair. Lance groaned, burying his face in his hands.

“I’ll take that as a yes?” Plaxum said with a smile, “You don’t seem surprised?”

“He turned up at New Year’s,” Lance sighed, “Completely out of the blue, might I add.”

“You seem… less enthusiastic than I thought you would be. You know, to see him again?”

“Yeah, I’m surprised too.” Lance said, peeking around again, “Wait, who is that he’s with?”

There was a blonde woman sat opposite of Keith, chattering happily. He heard Plaxum gasp from beside him. Lance rolled his eyes.

“No theorising,” Lance scolded.

“You’re no fun,” Plaxum replied, “Come on! We both know it can’t be a date.”

“No,” Lance sighed, “Just, no. Do you mind swapping sections with me?”

Plaxum gave him a look.

“Come on,” Lance whined, “Please? I can’t deal with him right now.”

“Just go talk to him,” the owner, Luxia, suggested peeking out from the kitchen, “Clear the air, get it over with.”

“I can’t do that,” Lance said.

“Yes, you can,” Luxia said, “Then you might be able to do your job.”

“What? Just walk up to him and tell him he’s a dick?” Lance asked sarcastically.

“If it gets you back to work, yes,” Luxia replied as she turned back into the kitchen.

“Fine,” Plaxum said, patting Lance on the shoulder, “I’ll take him off your hands, but you need to deal with it eventually.”

“Sure, Ms. Passive-Aggressive,” Lance said, smirking.

Plaxum opened her mouth, but then shook her head.

“Yeah, okay, I can’t argue with that.”

****

January continued to tick on, a certain monotony setting in. There was something oddly comforting about it, but it was far from stimulating. With him avoiding Keith, Lance found himself not hanging out with his friends as much, but no one seemed to notice. He did miss out on meeting Keith’s friend Romelle, who was apparently the girl he’d seen Keith with. Apparently she was really nice, just with no sense of personal boundaries.

Before he realised it, it was Hunk’s birthday.

“I brought cake!” Lance shouted as he entered the apartment.

“Is it from Balmera Bakery?” Hunk shouted back.

“Duh! I know my best friend,” Lance said rolling his eyes.

“He ordered it about three months ago,” Shay said, smiling from the kitchen.

“I wanted to make sure you got it!” Lance protested softly.

Shay smiled. “It’s sweet.”

“You know me so well,” Hunk said, patting Lance’s shoulder.

“Hey! I brought your favourite cookies!” Pidge argued, swinging on her chair.

“And that was very sweet too!” Hunk said, patting her shoulder now, “I picked out some movies for us to watch.”

The doorbell chimed.

“That’ll be Allura,” Hunk said, wandering over to the door.

Shay held up her phone. “Any preferences for pizza? Or should I just get the usual?”

“Yup, sounds good,” Pidge said.

“Like we’d be interesting enough to change our pizza order,” Lance agreed with a laugh.

“Oh,” Shay said, “Do either of you know what Keith wants?”

Lance felt his stomach drop. “Keith’s coming?”

Shay nodded. “Isn’t he lactose intolerant? Maybe we should order something else?”

Pidge snorted. “Please, Keith does not give a crap. Suggest that to him and he’d order a three cheese pizza just to spite you.”

Chuckling, Shay asked, “So what should I order for him?”

They had a bit more discussion on what to order before Shay called up the pizza place, deciding to just go for what used to be Keith’s favourite. Hunk came wandering back with Allura and the four of them drifted to the living room to pick out some movies.

 “You remember when we used to go clubbing for birthdays?” Lance asked as Pidge presented her favourite cheesy horror movie.

“Ahh… back when we were so young!” Pidge mused.

“You are still so young,” Allura said with a laugh.

“No, I’m not,” Pidge retorted, “I’m an old lady, don’t make me do anything.”

Lance snorted, pulling out his favourite mindless action movie. The doorbell rang again.

“I’ll get it,” Shay shouted from the kitchen, “Pizza should be about half an hour.”

“Thanks!” Hunk shouted back, “That’ll be Shiro and Keith.”

Lance tensed, but stomped down his emotions. It was almost scarily easy.

“Quick! Pick the movies and put the rest away!” Lance hissed in a whisper.

The four of them scrambled through the movies, picking out the ones they wanted before shoving the rest away.

“Hey guys!” Shiro greeted brightly, “What are we doing?”

“Putting in a movie,” Pidge replied, diving across to shove it in.

“Oh? Have you picked them all?” Shiro asked.

Lance would feel bad about Shiro’s sad tone, but he’d been subjected to a night of Shiro’s movie picks before and Lance was never going to go through that again.

“Yup, all picked and approved by Hunk. Sorry, Shiro,” Lance said with a smile.

“Aww,” Shiro said, pouting.

Keith muttered something that suspiciously sounded like, “Oh thank god.”

It made Lance snort, which he quickly covered up with a cough. Keith looked over and grinned at him. Lance quickly looked away.

“We ordered the usual pizza,” Shay said, walking in with a big bowl of popcorn, “If that’s alright with everyone?”

There were murmurs of agreement all around as they all collapsed back on the big corner sofa. Lance tensed as, for some reason, Keith decided to sit right beside him. He was able to distract himself pretty easily though as someone started their first movie of the evening.

It was a nice night after that, and Hunk really seemed to enjoy himself. In fact, everyone had a smile on their face at some point. Keith had stuffed his face with pizza, not complaining once about what toppings they’d got him. Shiro had shot him disapproving looks, but didn’t say anything.

The candles were lit. Happy Birthday was sung. The cake and cookies were amazing, as were the movies. Especially since they didn’t let Shiro pick any. It was nice, relaxing… even with Keith sitting next to Lance the whole time. Luckily, Keith didn’t try to engage him in conversation… or really pay attention to the fact Lance was looking at him. He really had changed since Lance had last seen him.

With a slight sigh, Lance looked back at the TV. It wasn’t just physically Keith had changed, he seemed calmer, more open. Lance was curious, he wanted to ask what happened, what changed. That involved talking to Keith though and Lance still wasn’t up to doing that. Lance crossed his arms over his chest, trying not to tense when Keith knocked into him. Damn it, Lance needed to get a grip.

****

When they’d lost Adam, everyone did they best they could to help take care of Shiro. That was why, when Lance had a massive amount of leftovers, he didn’t hesitate to text Shiro and ask if he wanted some. The ‘hell yes’ was also completely expected.

Lance pulled up outside the small house Shiro had inherited from his parents, humming lightly to himself. Grabbing the boxes off the passenger seat, he swung his legs out of the car. The garden was a little unkept and the fence needed a new coat of paint, but the house itself was small and cosy.

Ringing the doorbell gave a completely unexpected response: the sound of loud and enthusiastic barking. Shiro… didn’t have a dog and didn’t mention any plans to get one ever. He had a cat, who Lance could see staring at him through the window. But there was definitely barking and the scrabbling of blunt nails on the wooden door and yes, that certainly was a dog.

“Down, Cosmo,” a familiar voice said from the other side.

Lance almost groaned at his own stupidity. Of course, of course this would happen.

The door opened and who else would be there but _Keith_. It made perfect sense: Shiro was Keith’s brother and Keith wouldn’t have a place for himself just yet. Lance sighed internally at how stupid he was for not realising this would be the case.

“Oh, Lance,” Keith said, “Hey.”

“Hi,” Lance replied, “I have something for Shiro.”

Suddenly the dog Keith had been trying to hold back charged past his legs, almost knocking Keith over in his enthusiasm.

“Cosmo, no—” Keith started, too late.

Lance had no idea what breed Cosmo was, just that he was huge, black, and fluffy as he knocked into Lance. Holding up the Tupperware to try and save the leftovers, Lance let out a grunt of breath as he was knocked down and slobbered all over.

“Cosmo! No!” Keith shouted, “Leave Lance alone.”

The weight was hauled of his chest, Keith clearly struggling to hold back the mass of fur and slobber. Lance sat up, groaning a little.

“Is that Lance?” Shiro called from in the house.

“Yeah,” Keith called back, hauling Cosmo back inside.

“Gimme a sec!” Shiro shouted.

Lance scrambled to his feet, wiping the slobber off his face with his sleeve.

Keith pulled a face. “Sorry, he gets a little… overenthusiastic.”

“No, don’t worry,” Lance replied. Many pressing questions lit up Lance’s mind, mostly ‘where the hell did you get a dog?’ But he pushed them all back, holding up his Tupperware. “I brought leftovers,” he said, shaking it slightly.

“Yes!” Shiro cheered from right behind Keith, making both him and Lance jump.

Shiro practically sprinted out of the door and snatched the food out of Lance’s hands. “Oh man, you are a lifesaver,” Shiro declared, studying the Tupperware, “Keith can’t cook anything more than cheese on toast.”

“Hey,” Keith protested, “I can cook more than that!”

Shiro made a doubtful face and Keith punched him in the arm.

“Do you want to come in for a bit?” Shiro asked, looking to Lance.

Lance hesitated. He would, he used too all the time but… “Nah, I’m alright, I need to get back.”

Cosmo was whining from behind Keith, trying to wriggle around to get to Lance.

Shiro frowned. “You sure?”

“Yeah, sorry.” Lance shrugged. “I have some things I need to sort out.”

“Alright. See you later,” Shiro said.

Lance nodded with a smile.

“See you,” Keith added, “No, Cosmo, back.”

The big dog really wasn’t happy to not be able to play with a new friend, but obediently-ish backed away as Keith pushed him.

“See you guys,” Lance said, waving as he headed back to his car.

Alright, that wasn’t too bad, maybe he could manage it.

****

Lance was an adult. A reasonably functioning adult. Which was why it was his choice to lay in front of the TV eating a whole tub of ice cream, not because his life was falling apart. His cats, Red and Blue, were laid on the sofa with their paws and heads on his leg. Lance was incredibly comfortable, so very relaxed.

A knock on the door made him groan.

He wasn’t expecting anyone and no one had said they wanted to visit. Lance didn’t want to deal with it but… responsibility. Red and Blue were not happy to be moved, grumbling slightly as he shuffled them off of his lap.

“I know, girls,” Lance sighed, “But you need to blame whoever’s at the door.”

Padding over, Lance opened the door, ready to say something about not being interested. But it wasn’t a solicitor.

Keith stood in the doorway with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Keith?” Lance said, taking half a step back in surprise, “What are you doing here?”

“I want to talk to you. Can I come in?”

“What if I’m busy?”

Keith’s eyes darted up and down Lance, making Lance want to huff in offence. “You’re not,” Keith declared, somehow being oh so sure, “Can I come in? Please?”

Lance let out a long breath, stepping to the side to allow him in.

Keith walked into Lance’s apartment, eyes flickering around to take the place in. Lance was glad he’d cleaned recently. Blue and Red looked up to see who had invaded their space.

“You got cats too?” Keith asked, holding out his hand to them.

“I found them,” Lance replied, “In a box in an alley.”

The two of them sniffed Keith’s hand before butting him lightly with their heads.

Keith dropped to sit beside them. “What are their names?”

“Red and Blue,” Lance answered, sitting in the armchair.

Keith snorted. “Nice names.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think I’d be keeping them.”

Keith nodded. “Fair enough.”

They sat in silence for a minute, Keith petting the two cats, Lance trying to avoid looking at Keith.

“You’ve been avoiding me,” Keith said suddenly, looking up at Lance.

Lance began sputtering, “What?! No!?”

Keith raised his eyebrows, tilting his head to one side.

“I’ve not been avoiding you,” Lance denied.

“You’re not doing a very good job at lying.”

Lance looked down at his hands, letting out a harsh breath.

“Why? Why have you been avoiding me?”

Lance didn’t really need the clarification, what he did need was the extra time. What the hell was he supposed to tell Keith?

“Lance,” Keith said sternly, “The truth. You can’t lie to me.”

“Why does it matter? It doesn’t make any difference. We can still hang out with the others.”

“Because I want to hang out with you. It’s been two years Lance. I want to talk to you. What’s been going on? Other than the cats?”

Lance could feel his eyelid twitching. “Nothing much,” he lied, looking away, “I’m still working at the restaurant. That’s about it.”

“Lance, it’s been two years,” Keith insisted, “That can’t be all.”

“You’re right,” Lance said darkly, “It’s been two years, Keith.”

This was what Lance was worried about, anger building in his chest, all ready to burst out. Lance didn’t want to explode. He didn’t want to spill everything. Lance curled his hands into fists, taking a deep breath.

“It’s been a shit year, Keith,” Lance bit out, looking to a point on the wall, “Most of my year has been spent keeping everyone sane.”

Keith pulled a face. “Yeah, I heard it was a bit rough.”

Lance whipped his head around to glower at Keith. “A bit rough? Are you fucking kidding me?! It has been the worst, crappiest, shittiest year we’ve all had and you weren’t there. You left, Keith, with no words, no way of contacting you. Was one message saying you were okay too much to ask for?! We didn’t know where you were, if you were still okay… if you would ever come back! And you just walk back into our lives. Two years later. Like it’s nothing!”

Lance panted, staring down at Keith’s surprised face. He hadn’t even realised he’d stood up. Lance’s shoulders dropped as he let out a shuddering breath. “I’m sorry,” he murmured, wrapping his arms around himself.

The main reason Lance didn’t want to get angry with Keith… the main reason he was avoiding him… was Lance understood why he’d left. Keith had told them about some of his adventures, about finding himself, which was why he was so… different now.

“I don’t—” Lance said, “I get why you left, forget it, never mind.”

“No, no, no,” Keith said, standing up, “Don’t apologise.”

Keith reached out, grasping Lance’s biceps, gently pulling away his nails that were digging into his skin. “You’re right. I wasn’t there for you guys. I should have told you I was alright.”

Lance shook his head. “No, I know why you left… you shouldn’t feel bad for that.”

“And you shouldn’t feel bad about being angry,” Keith countered, “I’m sorry I wasn’t there and I’m sorry I just came back in like nothing had changed. Honestly? I expected people to be angrier.”

Lance looked away, staring at the floor. “Those years away really did you good, didn’t it? You seem all wise now.”

Keith chuckled a little awkwardly, “Not really? I just feel… calmer? I guess.”

Lance let out a long breath, shaking his head.

“I felt like I needed to go. But I really should have thought of you guys more. I wish I had. So much has changed. You weren’t talking to me…” Keith faltered, falling silent for a moment before continuing, “I found my mum.”

Lance’s head snapped up. “What?”

“I found my mum,” Keith repeated, “Honestly, that was the best part of the two years. If it hadn’t been for finding her… it probably wouldn’t have been worth it.”

“Woah, woah, woah, wait, you found your mum?” Lance asked.

Keith nodded. “Yeah, her name is Krolia… We’ve talked a bit.”

“You… why didn’t you tell us? Why haven’t we met her?”

Keith smiled a bit sheepishly. “I wanted to tell you first. And you were avoiding me so… that was a bit difficult.”

Lance would’ve asked why Keith wanted to tell him first, but they had been close before Keith left. Lance just, didn’t think that would have carried through.

“Now I feel really bad for going off on you,” Lance sighed.

Keith shook his head. “Stop that, it’s fine. I get it okay? I don’t mind. I expected it… honestly it was almost a relief. It’s been strange… almost slotting back into life.”

Lance took a deep breath. “What’s she like?”

“She’s… nice. I mean, I don’t know, she’s quiet and… isn’t really that open.”

“So? She’s like you?”

Keith rolled his eyes, punching Lance lightly in the arm.

Lance smiled at the familiar action, relaxing a little.

Maybe this would be okay. Maybe his relationship with Keith could be salvaged.


	3. February

February was… still cold and miserable. It was only made worse by the fact that Lance caught a cold, which made him _especially_ miserable.

Waking up on his day off feeling like his head was being split open was not fun. His nose was so sore from him wiping it… yet still dripping. Groaning, Lance rolled over to bury his face in the pillow. It was kind of gross, but Lance really didn’t care. He was probably running a fever, but checking would mean leaving his cocoon.

Red began meowing, Blue pawing at his face. They were hungry. Lance made a slightly pathetic noise, staring up at the ceiling. He needed to get up. He was fine with himself not eating all day, but he couldn’t do that to his girls.

It felt like the world was pressing down on him as Lance forced himself to his feet, staggering towards the kitchen. It took a monumental amount of effort, but he managed to feed the two cats. He shuffled back to his bed, landing face-down on his snotty pillow. Yes, his girls would not go hungry.

Lance’s phone chimed on his bedside table. Groaning, he fumbled for it.

**Hunk:** _Hey buddy, we still on for tonight?_

Lance rubbed his eyes, swearing slightly under his breath. He’d forgotten about that.

**Lance:** _Sorry buddy, can’t, sick._

**Hunk:** _Oh man, that sucks, I’ll bring you over some soup._

**Lance:** _You don’t have to._

**Hunk:** _But I want to, no arguing, I’ve started cooking._

Lance tossed his phone back on the nightstand, burrowing further into the covers. If Hunk wanted to make him soup, that’s fine. He tried to get back to sleep, but his head was pounding. Getting up and grabbing some painkillers seemed like an insurmountable task.

He must have drifted off to sleep at some point, because the next thing he knew his door was opening.

“Lance?” Hunk called, “Lance? You awake?”

Lance made a noise that could only be described as “Murghlbh.”

Hunk opened the bedroom door, light filtering in from the living room. Lance flung his arm over his eyes, burrowing deeper still into the blankets.

“Wow, you look rough,” Hunk observed, stepping in.

“Thanks, buddy,” Lance croaked, “Painkillers please.”

“Yeah, sure, eat some of this first,” Hunk said, holding out a thermos.

Lance shuffled himself to sit up, rubbing his temple as it throbbed.

“How do you feel?” Hunk asked, handing him the thermos.

“Like shit,” Lance replied, “Everything hurts.” He then sneezed six times rapidly, groaning slightly as his head throbbed more painfully each time.

“I’ll grab you the thermometer and pain killers,” Hunk said, wandering out.

Lance cracked open the thermos, smiling at the delicious smell. Hunk was too good to him. He hadn’t even realised how hungry he was, practically chugging the soup down. His stomach didn’t reject the food, not that he was expecting it to. He hadn’t been feeling nauseous, hopefully it would stay that way.

Hunk came back with a tall glass of water, painkillers, and Lance’s thermometer. The cats darted between his legs to jump up on the bed again, curling up beside Lance.

“You hid your thermometer well,” Hunk said, holding it out.

“Sorry, man, I cleaned out the bathroom and not everything has gotten back to where it was,” Lance replied, tucking the thermometer in his mouth.

He didn’t feel too bad anymore. He was still in pain, but the food had managed to make him feel leagues better already. The thermometer beeped, Lance reached for it, but Hunk grabbed it before he could and eyed it critically. Oh well. Lance grabbed the painkillers and water from the bedside table, swallowing them down.

“Well, you’re a bit warm,” Hunk concluded, “But nothing too bad.”

“It’s just a cold,” Lance said, sliding back down in bed.

“Alright,” Hunk said, “I’ll bring you some dinner later. Let me know if it gets any worse.”

Lance tried to protest. “That’s not—”

“No arguments. You’ll get better faster if you let me help.”

Lance burrowed himself under the blankets again, exhaustion starting to take over. The painkiller would kick in soon, so he’d be out soon enough.

“I’ll see you later, buddy,” Hunk said.

“Thanks, Hunk,” Lance replied, snuggling down.

****

Lance spent the rest of the day fading in and out of consciousness. The TV was on quietly in the background for when he was awake. Red and Blue remained curled at his side, purring happily at having him all to themselves.

It was late when there was a knock at his door. Lance frowned and sat up slightly. Hunk hadn’t been back yet, but he had his own key… Lance rolled himself out of bed, bundling himself up in a blanket as he shuffled his way to the door.

Keith was stood in the doorway, looking slightly ruffled with a thermos in his hand.

Keith held out the thermos. “Hey, Hunk was busy, so he asked me to bring you this.” He frowned slightly. “He said you weren’t feeling very well.”

“It’s just a cold,” Lance said, taking the thermos, “I’m alright.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked.

To Lance’s complete surprise, Keith reached out and rested a hand on his forehead. Keith looked just as surprised by his own action as Lance felt. He didn’t move his hand though.

“You feel a bit warm.”

“Minor fever, I’m fine,” Lance replied, shuffling backwards, “Come in if you want, the company would be nice.”

Keith nodded, following Lance in and shutting the door behind him.

After Lance’s outburst last month, the two of them had become much more relaxed around each other; the bubble of tension between them effectively burst. They weren’t quite back to where they were, but they were so much better. They sat comfortably together on Lance’s bed, watching a movie Lance had put on while he sipped his soup. Lance wasn’t feeling too bad anymore; it was really nice having the company though, and Keith dealt with Red and Blue splaying out onto of him well.

“Where did you get your dog?” Lance asked after finishing off the thermos.

Blue padded over both their legs to curl up at Lance’s side, head rested on his arm.

Keith was scratching Red behind the ears. “Cosmo? I was… ah… living rough for a bit, when I first left. One morning, I saw some guys bothering a small ball of fur. I chased them off and ended up with Cosmo.”

Lance let out a huff of a laugh, tilting his head back. “Sounds about right. I can just imagine you roaming around followed by a fluff ball.”

Keith smiled. “He was a very determined little pup.”

“He seems like a sweet dog.”

“He is. Although he likes to push his luck.”

Lance shrugged. “So, like a dog?”

Keith chuckled. “Yeah, like a dog.”

The two of them chatted for a bit longer, Keith telling Lance a little more about his adventures while he was away. He talked about the young woman he’d met there, who he’d helped out of a bad situation. With Lance avoiding Keith, he hadn’t really gotten a chance to meet Romelle. He would have to. She sounded a bit odd, a little quirky, but nice enough.

Keith hung out until the movie was over, then decided it was time for Lance to get some rest.

Lance felt… oddly empty after he left.

****

Valentine’s Day rolled around and Lance was _not_ looking forward to it. It wasn’t really anything to do with being single. Hell, Lance used to love Valentine’s Day, girlfriend or no girlfriend. No, the issue lay with Lance being a waiter _on_ Valentine’s Day.

There were so many people. Queues out the doors of people who didn’t think to book, basically everyone complaining about the wait time, even though they could clearly see the restaurant was busy.

Lance was moving as quickly as he could without actually running, bouncing from table to table while avoiding people. There were always those guys who thought being an ass to him would impress their date, and the occasional date who would fall for it.

“You look like you’re going to fall asleep standing up,” Lance commented as he swung into the kitchen.

Plaxum groaned slightly, rubbing her eye. “I feel like it too. Geez.”

Lance smile-grimaced at her, before heading back out with a couple of plates.

“You’ve got another couple at table two,” Florona told him as he passed, “It would be nice if people learnt to book.”

Lance snorted, “But that would make our lives too easy.”

Florona rolled her eyes as Lance strode out, placing the two plates down with a smile and a flourish. Even smiling was becoming difficult. Lance just couldn’t wait for it to be over. Couldn’t wait for that sweet relief. He was going to visit his parents in a couple of days, just think of that, and not the endless line of customers.

****

Lance melted into the sofa, groaning in relief. Beer, takeout, and a garbage movie with his cats was Lance’s idea of a great night. Tomorrow, he and Pidge were going to head out and buy all the cheep chocolate they could get their hands on. Now that, that was the best part of Valentine’s Day.

The two of them had planned their strategy of attack, which shops they would be going in, what time they would leave, what order they had to go in. They’d got this down to a fine art. Lance needed to grab some flowers for his mum too.

Red and Blue stumbled over each other, as Lance flicked their toy around. Red launched herself up into the air, catching the small toy mouse. The second she landed, Blue slammed into her, pinning her to the ground.

Lance let them have the toy and started flicking through his emails lazily, deleting most of them. How the hell he’d managed to accumulate so much junk mail was a complete mystery. Eventually, he stumbled over something that might be good… Very good… Oh goodness.

Lance grabbed his phone, then hesitated. Hunk would be busy; it was Valentine’s Day after all. He needed to talk to someone though. After getting his degree in marine biology, Lance had searched far and wide for a job. He’d found something that had looked amazing, that involved travelling and tagging whales. Lance had not got in, and he was still kind of bummed about it. But the email was about another job opportunity, something similar, involving sharks.

Shiro. He should call Shiro! He’d said Lance could call him if anything came up and Lance had to admit, he was a little anxious. With shaking hands, Lance dialled him.

Shiro picked up after only a couple of rings. “ _Lance, what’s wrong?_ ”

“Shiro, I… justgotanemailaboutthepossibilityofgettingajobtravellingaroundtheworldstudyingsharksandI’msuperexcitedbutit’sscaryandIdon’tknowwhattodo,” Lance blurted out.

There was a long pause.

“ _Okay, say that again, but slower and with breathing. I didn’t get any of that._ ”

Lance took a deep breath and tried again. “I just got an email about the possibility of getting a job travelling around the world studying sharks and I’m super excited but it’s scary and I don’t know what to do.”

“ _Right_ ,” Shiro said, “ _So you’ve got a job offer?_ ”

“No,” Lance clarified, “It’s an application.”

“ _Right, and it’s basically your dream job,_ ” Shiro said, “ _So why aren’t you applying immediately?_ ”

Lance hesitated, chewing his lip. This is why he called Shiro, to talk it through.

“Because I’m scared. I don’t know if I’ll get it and if I don’t…”

There was another long pause, Lance wasn’t sure what to say. He didn’t want to be crushed by the fact he didn’t get the job, but he probably would be.

“ _But what if you do?_ _How amazing would that be?_ ”

“It would be incredible,” Lance replied with a sigh, “It would open the door for so many things… and the job itself would be amazing.”

“ _Well, there’s your answer. I know you’d regret it if you don’t apply._ ”

“But if I get rejected… I don’t know if I can go through that.”

“ _You’re not going to want to let this opportunity go,_ ” Shiro urged softly, “ _When do you have to reply by?_ ”

“Not until April.”

“ _Well then, think it over. You’ll come to the same conclusion I have, but in your own time._ ”

Lance frowned. “Hey…”

“ _You will, just trust me,_ ” Shiro insisted, clearly trying to sound all wise.

Lance huffed, “Thanks, Shiro.”

“ _No problem,_ ” Shiro said, voice bright, “ _You can call me whenever._ ”

“Yeah… I know… thank you,” Lance replied.

****

The drive to his parents was a bit of long, but Lance didn’t mind. It gave him time to clear his head, to enjoy his time alone. Lance drummed his hands on the wheel, humming and singing slightly under his breath. It had been a long time since he’d gone home, a long time since he’d seen his siblings, his parents. Lance couldn’t wait!

His parents lived in an old farmhouse, with a great deal of land surrounding it. They only had a few animals pottering around though, including a cow he and Pidge had gotten a few years back. Honestly, Lance still wasn’t all that sure how they’d managed that.

Lance pulled up in the driveway, looking up at the house. It was the same as he remembered. Grabbing his stuff, Lance wandered up to the front door—which had a fresh coat of paint, he noticed—, put down his suitcase, and knocked.

His mama opened the door and Lance grinned.

“Hello, mama, I brought you flowers.”

“Oh aren’t you a sweetheart,” she said, taking the bouquet “There on sale after Valentine’s Day?”

Lance pouted. “I would’ve bought you some anyway.”

She chuckled. “I know, it’s sweet, more than I get from the others.”

“How is everyone anyway?”

“Good, good,” she said, pulling him into a hug, “Everyone is good, how are you? How are your friends?”

“They’re good, yeah. I’m… fine…” Lance replied, letting out a long breath, “Keith showed back up pretty suddenly.”

His mama’s eyes widened, and she hummed, nodding. “Interesting. Very interesting. Well, come on in then, I’ll make some tea.”

Lance smiled. “Thanks. Am I in my room?”

“Yes,” she answered, nodding, “Be careful, the banister’s a bit loose.”

Picking up his suitcase, Lance hauled his things upstairs.

Lance’s childhood bedroom wasn’t really his childhood bedroom anymore. Most of his personal belongings were now in his apartment, with only a few left over. It looked like it’d been repainted too while he’d been away. It really had needed it.

The old house, other than the fresh paint and the banister, was exactly the same. The family pictures on the walls, the old wooden floors, and the uneven walls from his and his siblings’ exploits. His mama was sat in the living room, two cups of tea on the coffee table.

“Now,” she said, as Lance joined her, “Tell me everything.”

And so he did, telling her about everything that had happened recently. He felt oddly lighter after talking about it.

****

It was great having the whole family together. That didn’t happen so much now everyone was grown up with their own lives. It was like they were kids again; not one of them had lost their competitive edge. Board games became deadly, often with no definitive end… just a squabble and someone flipping the board.

Lance was having a great time, until Veronica got onto her favourite topic.

“So,” she said, dragging out the word, “How’s Allura?”

Lance groaned, it was no secret that Lance had had a crush on Allura basically forever now. Lance had no intention of pursuing it, especially not after what happened with her ex. He just wanted to be a good friend for her.

“She’s better,” Lance answered, “Being cheated on was not great for her.”

“Ronnie, come on,” Rachel said, “Drop it already.”

“What? I’m just asking about a friend!” Veronica said, “And I think our baby brother needs to man up and ask her out already.”

A general groan came from everyone, along with an eye roll.

“What? What?” Veronica said defensively, “I’m just saying, it’s been years!”

“Exactly, years, drop it,” Lance grumbled, “I’m not going to ask her out alright?”

Veronica pulled a face. “Alright then, I was just saying.”

“Well stop,” Lance bit out, “I don’t want to talk about it anymore.”

“Alright,” Veronica said.

“Scrabble?” Marco cut in, “How about we play scrabble?”

The night continued on much the same way, but maybe a little tenser than before.

****

Lance obviously couldn’t stay with his parents forever. He had a job. He had cats! His girls came running the second he stepped through the door, which was nice. But his life continued in the same monotonous way it always did.

At the end of the month came Shiro’s birthday, but not really, so they threw him a Birthday-But-Not-Really party. It wasn’t a crazy affair, but it was nice, peaceful. Lance was also actually talking to Keith now, which was nice. It was just a nice, calm get together.

“Hey, do you remember that Halloween party, the one before we got all boring?” Pidge asked out of the blue.

Everyone groaned and laughed.

Lance dropped his head back. “No actually. There’s a reason we got all boring after that one.”

“What was the girl’s name?” Shiro asked.

Lance groaned. “Nyma. Had sex with me then robbed me blind. I can’t even remember if the sex was any good.”

Keith snorted. “Wow, you’re a moron.”

“‘Scuse you, she’s become a very good friend, thank you very much.”

 “Wait… you what?” Keith said, sitting up.

“Yeah,” Lance continued, “We met each other again, about a year ago? Hunk?”

“Yeah,” Hunk agreed, “She just came up to you and started talking.”

Lance shrugged. “Paid me back and everything. She was in a bit of a rough spot and was trying to make amends.”

“Wow,” Keith murmured, shaking his head slightly.

“Yeah, that was about my reaction. Along with, ‘what the hell?’”

“Just about,” Keith said, “That’s insane.”

There was a general murmur of agreement.

“And now we’re all getting old!” Lance shouted to the ceiling.

“Speak for yourself,” Shiro argued, “Unlike you, I only age every four years.”

Keith threw a cushion at him.

“You’re just jealous of my youthful good looks,” Shiro said, framing his face with his fingers.

“You keep telling yourself that,” Keith said.

Hunk, thoroughly done with this conversation, cut them off, “Who wants cake? I’ll go get the cake!” And then swung himself off the sofa and started to the kitchen without waiting for an answer.

“I better get candles this time!” Shiro called after him.

“But it’s technically not your birthday!” Lance said with a laugh.

Shiro whacked him with the cushion Keith had thrown, making Lance laugh harder.

“Does this mean we don’t have to sing to him?” Romelle asked.

Lance had been right. He did like Romelle. She was sweet, very odd, and could be a bit nosy and blunt. She fit right in!

“Should he even get cake?” Allura asked.

“Oh, come on!” Shiro protested, “I take it back! I’m old!”

They all burst into laughter as Hunk came out with the cake, candles burning bright.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I was thinking of doing a season 8 rewrite...then I realised I was probably going to have to actually finish season 8 and possibly have to re-watch it and i wasn't about that...so I decided to put all my ideas in a present day AU and this fic was born!
> 
> Anyway I have a few busy weeks coming up so I will try to stick to a regular schedule but I don't know if that's going to happen.
> 
> Anyway comments and kudos are always appreciated, let me know what you think and thanks for reading I hope you enjoyed!


	4. March

Lance was amazing at painting nails, if he did say so himself. He found it relaxing, and had practiced a hell of a lot with his sisters and mother. This was one of the reasons why Allura and Pidge let him paint their nails when the three of them hung out. Another was that he badgered them until they agreed. Allura seemed thrilled with the tiny butterflies Lance had painted on her nails and the little flower on her ring fingernail. Pidge was slightly less enthused, but seemed happy enough with her green nails with tiny leaves.

The three of them had decided to hang out, pamper themselves a little, watch movies, and relax; it had been a long time since they’d done this, with all of them being busy with life. There was a mindless action movie on in the background that no one was really paying attention to it as they relaxed back into the sofa. They all had face masks on, bowls of popcorn and chocolate, nails done.

It was great. Lance had missed this. Although, he hadn’t missed Allura and Pidge’s apparent inability to keep the nail polish on his nails. There was a reason he only let them paint his toes.

“You know, Matt got himself a girlfriend,” Pidge babbled, focusing her attention on Lance’s little toe.

“What?” Lance said, eyebrows raising, “How did he manage that?”

“He found someone with really low standards,” Pidge responded flatly.

Lance snorted. Allura huffed, giving Pidge a light shove.

“Alright, I can’t say that because I haven’t met her, but I assume that’s what happened,” Pidge amended, “Apparently they met when he was at work. I don’t know. She’s apparently nice.”

“Wow,” Lance mused, “I need to get a girlfriend, Matt’s going to be so insufferably smug if I don’t.”

Pidge snorted. “I think he’ll be insufferably smug either way. God, he’s a pain.”

Allura rolled her eyes. “You have really got to be more supportive.”

“Nah, he’s already enough of a pain in the ass.”

Lance snorted, leaning his head back and closing his eyes.

“He seems to really like her though,” Pidge said thoughtfully.

“Well, that usually helps,” Lance noted, smiling lightly.

“Yeah, I don’t think I’ve seen him this excited about a girl… well… ever.”

“Yes, we’ve heard all about his exploits,” Allura said dryly, “Multiple times.”

“I could probably tell some of his stories word-for-word,” Lance added.

Pidge snorted. “Yeah, but I… it’s strange you know? He’s not normally like this.”

“Maybe he’s growing up?” Allura suggested.

Lance looked at the two of them. “Wow, Matt growing up?”

“I know,” Pidge said, letting out a long breath as she shook her head, “Never thought I’d see the day…”

“Well I—,” Lance started, before looking down at the mess at his feet, “Pidge, you’re completely missing my nails.”

“I thought you’d look good with blue toes,” Pidge said with a shrugged.

“Did you?” Lance asked dubiously, “Like? The whole thing?”

Pidge smiled, before painting a streak across his whole toe and a little up his foot. “Yes.”

Lance tried to shove her away with his foot, but Pidge dodged away, laughing, so Lance grabbed a handful of popcorn and flung it at her. Laughing harder, she almost wobbled off the sofa as she tried to avoid him.

Allura snorted and shook her head at their antics, finishing Lance’s last toe on her assigned foot with a flourish. “All done!” she said brightly.

“Well you did better than Pidge,” Lance grumbled, flexing his toes idly, “I can’t believe she never learned to colour in the lines!”

He laughed as a handful of popcorn hit him and tried to shove Pidge away again. This time she did fall off the sofa, but she was still laughing so it clearly didn’t hurt her. The forgotten action movie suddenly left off a loud _BANG_ , making the three of them jump… before bursting into laughter again.

****

Lance frowned suspiciously at the Doritos, eyes flickering over the different flavours. He didn’t really know what flavour he fancied… or maybe he didn’t even fancy Doritos at all. It was kind of a stupid thing to get hung up about, but in that moment, it just seemed to be really important. Maybe he’d get a different type of dip than usual. That may help him make the decision, maybe.

“Oh, hi, Lance!”

Lance glanced up to see Allura a short way away, waving at him. He smiled brightly, lifting up his hand to wave back. “Hey, how’s it going?” he greeted.

“Good,” she replied, wandering over, “It’s going good, just doing the usual.” She nodded down at the basket on her arm, giving it a slight wriggle.

“Yeah, me too,” Lance said, nodding down at his own basket, “I’m just trying to pick out some Doritos. I’m not sure what flavour I want.”

Allura chuckled, nodding. “It can be a very difficult decision. A very important one too.”

“I know,” Lance said, turning back to the shelves, “And I just can’t pick a flavour.”

“Well… are you having dip?” Allura asked, tilting her head to one side.

Lance hummed, “Yeah, I think I want dip.”

“Well what dip? That’s going to narrow down your choices.”

It seemed kind of silly, chatting with Allura about Doritos and dip, but it was strangely nice. Lance kind of hated himself a little at the swoop of his stomach he still felt. Why did he still have these annoying feelings? Allura needed a friend now.

The two of them continued their shopping, chatting happily away as they collected everything they wanted. The more they wandered around though, the more Lance thought something was strange about what was happening. Allura seemed to be almost… flirting? With him. That couldn’t be right; it had to be only wishful thinking, Allura did not see him that way.

Lance jumped slightly as his phone started to ring.

“Sorry,” he said, grabbing it, “It’s Ronnie. I should probably get this, sorry.”

Allura just smiled. “Don’t worry.”

“What do you want?” Lance asked into his phone, cocking his hip.

“ _Charming as always_ ,” Veronica replied, “ _Is that any way to speak to your sister?_ ”

“When she’s bothering me while I’m busy. So, what do you want?”

“ _Ha, sure_ ,” Veronica teased, “ _I’d be inclined to believe you, but I know you don’t have a life._ ”

“Ronnie!” Lance protested with a slight huff, “I do things.”

“ _Sure you do,_ ” Veronica drawled, voice dripping with sarcasm, “ _I’m sure you’re doing something incredibly exciting and I’ve not just interrupted your shopping or something._ ”

Lance froze mouth open to protest, but she was right. But he was not going to admit defeat that easily. “I’m hanging out with Allura,” Lance said, nodding.

Allura shot him a curious look. Lance shot her a smile.

“ _Oh… are you now,_ ” Veronica said with a tone of voice that made Lance wish he’d just admitted to shopping.

“It’s not like that,” Lance defended, rolling his eyes, “We were both out and happened to meet up.”

“ _Right,_ ” Veronica said. Lance could hear the smirk in her voice.

“Ronnie, what do you want?” Lance asked with a slight sigh.

Veronica laughed. “ _I was thinking of coming to visit you next month. You know, I’m in the area._ ”

“Oh yeah, sure. No problem. Any particular reason?”

“ _Do I need a reason to visit my favourite brother?_ ”

“What did you do?” Lance asked suspiciously.

Veronica fake-gasped, “ _How dare you! How very dare you accuse me of doing something?!_ ”

Lance hummed, “You’re not helping your case.”

She let out a huff of breath, “ _Can I come over or not?_ ”

Lance laughed, “Yeah, yeah okay, no problem.”

“ _Good. And you can tell me all about Allura!_ ”

“And I’m hanging up on you,” Lance replied, doing just that.

Allura tilted her head to one side, shooting him a curious look.

“Just Veronica being stupid,” he explained.

Allura smiled, chuckling softly.

“She’s coming to visit next month,” Lance continued.

“Oh, that will be nice,” Allura said, “You’ll have to bring her to hang out.”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “Are you sure? Really?”

Allura snorted, hitting him lightly on the shoulder.

****

Okay, Lance was really confused. He had absolutely no idea what the hell was going on. Allura was… flirting with him. Or, at least, it certainly seemed that way. Maybe it was Lance’s wishful thinking, but he was sure he was long past that.

Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had all gone out to get burgers, for no particular reason other than they were feeling lazy. This is when Lance decided to bring the matter up with them.

“I think Allura is flirting with me?” Lance wondered, frowning down at his hands.

Pidge groaned, “Not this again.”

“Lance,” Hunk sighed, “Haven’t we been over this?”

Lance huffed, crossing his arms with a deep frown. There was the reason he’d put off talking about this with them. “You know what, never mind. Forget it.”

Hunk and Pidge shot each other a look and, yeah, Lance was regretting this.

“Look, buddy,” Hunk said, “We just don’t want you being disappointed again.”

“I don’t— haven’t you noticed? She seems to be acting really strangely?” Lance asked, frowning.

“No,” Pidge countered, “She’s been acting just the same.”

Lance sighed, propping his chin up with a deep frown. “Am I going crazy? I thought I was over this. I could’ve sworn…”

“Dude, you need to find someone else,” Pidge said, shaking her head.

Lance murmured, “I just… thought…”

Yeah, maybe he was imagining things.

****

Lance was 110% not imagining Allura flirting with him.

“Dude,” Hunk said, after Allura had walked away.

“I know,” Lance agreed.

“Dude!”

“I know!”

“Dude!!”

“Yes! Hunk! I know!

“Man,” Hunk exclaimed, slapping Lance on the back, “Sorry I ever doubted you!”

“Yeah,” Lance mumbled, “Honestly, I thought I was imaging it…”

“Wow… Allura is actually flirting with you. Nice!” Hunk cheered, grinning brightly, “I mean, you’ve wanted to date her forever!”

“Yes, Hunk, I am aware,” Lance said, rolling his eyes.

He wasn’t happy with this… Why wasn’t he happier about this? Hunk was right: he’d wanted to be with Allura the moment he’d laid eyes on her. He should be elated. On top of the world. Walking on sunshine! He just… wasn’t.

“So, when are you going to ask her out?” Hunk prompted, practically bouncing in his seat.

Lance’s brain chugged to a stop. “What?”

“Ask her out, dude?” Hunk continued, oblivious to Lance’s internal struggle, “I’m surprised you haven’t already! Although, I suppose you weren’t sure she was actually flirting with you…”

“Ask… her…” Lance trailed off.

“Man! You must be so excited!” Hunk grinned, “I’m excited for you!”

“I… um…”

If he was being honest, Lance _hadn’t_ thought about asking her out. Even now that Hunk had said it, Lance wasn’t sure he wanted to.

“We could double date!” Hunk rambled on.

Lance blinked, still not all that sure what to say.

“You should ask her out now!” Hunk decided, standing up, “Come on! Let’s go!”

“What?” Lance asked as Hunk hauled him to his feet, “Wait, what? Hunk!”

“You’re going to ask her out! I bet you’re so excited!”

“I— um—” Lance started, but Hunk had already dragged him to where Allura was now chatting with Romelle.

“Oh, hi, Lance,” Allura said when she noticed him, smiling brightly.

“Hi, Allura,” Lance responded, a little awkwardly. He glanced over to Hunk, who was giving him both thumbs up and smiling brightly. “I was wondering if you wanted to go out on a date some time?” he asked, actually surprised he managed to get the sentence out coherently.

Allura looked surprised, flushing a little.

“Ooooo,” Romelle cooed.

“I… well, I am a little busy—”

“You should go out!” Romelle cut in brightly, “I bet it would be fun!”

“I, erm, well… yes, I can manage Friday? If that’s alright with you?” Allura fumbled out.

Lance had the evening off then; it would be perfect. “Friday, for dinner?” Lance clarified.

Allura smiled and nodded. “Sounds good.”

Both Romelle and Hunk squealed excitedly at her answer. Lance? Well, he just felt… oddly hollow.

****

Oh god, Lance had made a horrible mistake. What was he thinking asking Allura out? Damn Hunk’s infectious enthusiasm and encouragement! What the hell?! Why!?

Well, if Keith didn’t hear Lance hammering on his door, he’d certainly hear Cosmo barking. Lance didn’t really know why he was going to Keith with this issue. He just… seemed like the most sensible option.

“Cosmo! Cosmo! Back!” Keith’s voice sounded from behind the door, “Come here, you menace.”

Lance couldn’t help but smile, even through his internal freak-out. The door opened and Keith swore as Cosmo knocked past him, barking enthusiastically as he jumped up at Lance.

“Hey, buddy!” Lance grinned, scratching Cosmo’s neck and then behind his ears.

“Oh, hi, Lance,” Keith greeted, leaning against the doorframe, “What are you doing here?”

Lance’s smile fell and he dropped Cosmo’s paws to the ground. “I… err… I wanted to talk to you.”

“Oh… sure,” Keith said, turning back into the house, “Come on in.”

Lance nodded, following Keith inside, Cosmo on his heels.

“Coffee? Tea?” Keith asked.

“No, I’m alright,” Lance answered, dropping to sit on the sofa.

Cosmo hopped up beside him, laying across Lance’s lap.

“Alright,” Keith said, dropping to sit in the armchair, “What’s up?”

“I… ah… I asked Allura on a date,” Lance stammered, staring down at Cosmo’s fur.

Keith tilted his head to one side. “Oh?”

“And I’m freaking out! What was I thinking! I can’t go out with Allura!” Lance began rambling anxiously, “I just— what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Keith cut in, holding up his hands, “Calm down. Slow down. What’s wrong?”

Okay yeah, Lance now knew why he’d gone to Keith. He had this uncanny ability to snap Lance out of his own spiralling thoughts… to get him to rationalise.

“I— so I asked Allura out on a date,” Lance started again, “And now I’m thinking it wasn’t a good idea.”

“Why?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Are you kidding? She’s way out of my league! In what universe did I think I’d ever be good enough for her,” Lance fretted, pressing his face into Cosmo’s fur, “I mean, you never met her ex, but he was… Incredible! How am I ever meant to compete with that?”

“By not cheating on her?” Keith suggested, smiling.

Lance huffed, smooshing his face further into Cosmo’s fluff.

Keith let out a long sigh, the chair creaking slightly as he shifted around. “Lance, you’re an idiot.”

“Gee, thanks,” Lance mumbled.

“No, that’s not…” Keith huffed, “That’s not want I meant. I mean you’re an idiot for thinking like that. You’re a great guy, Lance. Allura’s an idiot if she doesn’t see that. You’re so kind and compassionate. You just care so damn much… Allura is lucky to date you. Anyone would be.”

Lance felt something heavy settle in his chest, his heart pounding a little. A part of Lance wanted to not believe Keith—think that he was just saying that to be nice—but Keith just looked so damn earnest, his voice soft with no hint of mockery. Lance curled his arms tightly around Cosmo’s neck, face now completed buried in the thick black fur.

“You really mean that?” Lance murmured.

Maybe he was being a little bit needy, but he needed to hear it.

Keith smiled. He didn’t roll his eyes. He didn’t scoff. He just smiled. It was soft, understanding.

“Lance, you are an amazing person. Allura is very lucky to be going on a date with you,” Keith assured, “I really mean that.”

“Thank you, Keith,” Lance said quietly, giving Cosmo a squeeze as he sat up again.

“Anytime,” Keith replied, leaning back.

“I’ll have that tea now,” Lance said, smiling.

Keith snorted, rolling his eyes.

****

Friday rolled around all too quickly. Lance was so nervous he felt like he was going to throw up. God, he was so damn nervous. He could do this though. Lance had liked Allura for a long time. She was fantastic and their date will be fantastic. Yeah, it’s going to go great. He stepped out of the door before his confidence could falter.

Allura looked like an actual angel; Lance’s mouth went dry when he saw her. She smiled at him, her head tilted to the side. Her hair cascaded over her shoulders, her dress flattered her beautifully, and her heels made her legs seem to go on for miles. Lance fought back the noise that rose in his throat, because it likely would have been incredibly embarrassing.

“You look… amazing,” Lance said after composing himself.

Allura smiled, her cheeks going pink. “Thank you. You look good too.”

“Thanks,” Lance replied, “Shall we?”

“Yes, let’s.”

Dinner was… a little awkward. The two of them were not really sure how to act around each other… not in this situation anyway. They sat across from each other in silence, glancing up at each other occasionally. When they accidentally made eye contact, they both quickly went to staring at the table.

Eventually, after they’d ordered, they managed to start a conversation. Everything seemed to slip into place then. It was if they had remembered that, yes, they were in fact friends. It was nice; the two of them chatting and laughing together. So incredibly relaxed. There was only one issue: Lance wasn’t feeling a romantic spark. It was only the first part of their first date though. Maybe he was overthinking this.

The dinner went well after the awkward start. It was pleasant and relaxed and, as always, Lance really enjoyed Allura’s company. The pair headed to the nearby park afterwards, hand in hand. Again, it was nice, but Lance… just… something was… wrong. He couldn’t put his finger on it. For all intents and purposes, it should be a fantastic date. Maybe Lance’s expectations were too high. He _had_ wanted to date Allura forever.

“I do love this park,” Allura sighed, “It’s always so peaceful and the trees are so pretty.”

“Yeah,” Lance replied, “Remember our first ever picnic?”

“Oh yes,” Allura laughed, “Hunk was cooking all day to try and make it perfect. I think Pidge got bitten by about a hundred mosquitos.”

“And Keith fell into poison ivy.” Lance smiled. “I think Shiro just napped the whole afternoon away.”

“That place we found though,” Allura sighed, “It was so beautiful.”

“Do you wanna heading there now?”

Allura nodded and the two of them went off the path, slipping between the bushes and the trees. They eventually reached where they’d had the picnic, under a huge old tree.

“I haven’t been here in ages,” Allura mused, releasing Lance’s hand to place it on the huge tree.

“Neither have I,” Lance said, “Just never seemed to have the time.”

Allura smiled. “We have been busy. How’s the job search been going?”

“I er… had an option to apply for… Well, an opportunity to go on a research vessel.”

Allura gasped softly, “Oh wow! That’s amazing, Lance. You must be so excited!”

“I… haven’t actually applied,” Lance murmured, looking down, “I’m just… worried I won’t get it.”

“Ah, yes,” she replied, pulling a face. She’d been there for Lance when he’d not got the job the first time, and clearly they both remembered how unpleasant that had been. “I still think you should apply though,” she continued, “You’ll regret it if you don’t.”

Lance let out a long breath. She’s right. He knows she’s right. “Yeah…”

Allura smiled at him, wandering back over. She leant in and Lance reciprocated, the two of them meeting in the middle. It was very gentle, a soft press of lips. There was something, something small that could maybe develop into something more. He wasn’t completely over Allura; his feelings could still redevelop. It wasn’t what Lance was expecting though… He was more over her than he thought.

Allura didn’t seem all that into the kiss either and the two of them pulled away after only a few moments.

“I err…” Allura faltered, “I’m sorry, Lance.”

There was a slight twinge in his chest, but he wasn’t devastated.

“It’s okay. I think… maybe something?”

“Possibly,” Allura sighed, “I don’t… this isn’t fair to you Lance. I don’t even know if I’m over him.”

Lance nodded, looking away. That hurt a little more.

“Tonight has been nice,” she continued, “And I’m glad I came, but I don’t think it’s fair to lead you on. I adore you as a friend. Maybe we could be something… but I don’t want to lose you…”

“You wouldn’t lose me, ‘Lura,” Lance reassured, “There’s still something, but, not as intense as before. I think I’ve accepted that…”

“So?” Allura surmised, “This dating thing. Not for us? Not right now anyway. Maybe in the future?”

“Yeah, you can hit me up,” Lance agreed, smiling, “I’m good being friends. I… ah… I won’t wait for you but, if I’m free, maybe we could give it another go?”

Allura smiled back softly. “Sounds good. You deserve happiness, Lance, and I hope you find it.”

“Yeah,” Lance sighed, trailing off, “Come on, let’s head back.”

The two of them turned back to head to the path. Lance let out a long breath. It did sting a little, but it wasn’t unexpected. He’d get over it…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah...you know how I said it would take a while to update...actually I can't remember if I did but I'm saying it now, I am busy until August so the chapters are likely to be far apart...sorry about that!
> 
> Yeah...so Lance and Allura go on a date....it...doesn't work out...
> 
> Comments and kudos are appreciated! Thanks for reading!


	5. April

What do we do?” Pidge whispered.

“I don’t know,” Hunk hissed back, “He’s acting so strange, I don’t know how to deal with this!”

“Guys, I can hear you,” Lance said, leaning his head back.

He was sat in Hunk and Shay’s flat, kicked back on the sofa, with Hunk and Pidge ‘whispering’ behind him. Pidge vaulted over the back of the sofa after Lance spoke, leaning against his side.

“Then tell us what’s up… if anything’s up?” Pidge said, frowning slightly, “Is something up?”

Hunk shuffled around, dropping to sit on Lance’s other side. Reaching out, he squashed Lance to his side in a tight hug.

“We’re here for you buddy,” he assured.

“Look,” Lance sighed, “I’m alright.”

“Really?” Pidge replied, “You went on a date with Allura, who you’ve repeatedly said is your dream girl, and got rejected… and you say… you’re alright?”

Lance sighed again, rolling his eyes. “Look, I’m fine, okay? I kind of already figured it wouldn’t work out. I mean, I think you both know she’s way out of my league.” He shrugged. “I’d already sort of accepted it.”

Pidge squished closer, kneeling up and squishing his face between her hands. “You’re more than enough for Allura!”

“Pidge, I don’t think—” Lance tried to say through his squished cheeks.

“No, you listen to me,” Pidge said, squeezing harder, “You are more than good enough for Allura and you will find someone one day! Someone who really likes you and can put up with your annoying ass.”

“Yeah!” Hunk added, “Allura doesn’t know what she’s missing out on!”

Lance chuckled, removing Pidge’s hands from his face. “Guys, I’m really alright. Don’t worry. That was probably the nicest thing you’ve ever said about me though.”

Pidge stuck her tongue out. “Don’t ever expect it again,” she said with a smile.

“You are alright though?” Hunk asked, “Like, really really alright?”

“Yeah,” Lance insisted, “I’m fine guys. Yeah, I’m disappointed, but…” He shrugged.

“No seriously, you are acting strange,” Pidge said.

“I really expected you to be more mopey than this,” Hunk agreed.

Lance just shrugged again. “She dated another guy. I’ve had a long time to get over her.”

The two of them frowned at each other, before frowning at Lance.

“Seriously, drop it,” Lance said.

“Fine, fine,” Hunk conceded, “I’m going to make you some cookies though.”

Lance smiled. “I’ll never say no to that.”

****

Pidge’s birthday involved snacks and gaming. It had become almost a tradition for Lance and Pidge to compete against each other, neither of them holding onto their lead long enough to actually declare a winner.

“Okay, I’m stopping this before you two start actually fighting,” Hunk declared, removing the controllers from their hands.

“No! Hunk!” Pidge protested.

“Yeah Hunk! We wouldn’t actually fight!” Lance said.

“Guys, you were getting a bit too into it,” Shiro said.

“Yeah… you were,” Matt added, “Give them their controllers back, I want to see how this ends!”

Pidge threw a cushion at him, making Shiro laugh as it smacked Matt right in the face.

“Ahhhh!” Matt cried out dramatically, falling sideways, “Betrayal! My own sister! Oh the pain!”

“Well, looks like I’m going to have to put you out of your misery,” Pidge said, standing up.

Matt’s eyes went wide as Pidge approached him, grabbing a cushion to defend himself as she grabbed another and started to whack him with it. Lance laughed as Matt tried to scramble away from the onslaught, accidentally elbowing Keith in the stomach while he was at it.

“Hey, Hunk,” Lance said, ignoring the chaos, “Fancy a game?”

“Sure,” Hunk agreed, handing one of the controllers back to Lance.

Matt was screeching now, trying to get away and hit back, but was having no success. Shiro was howling with laughter. Keith had slipped off the sofa and onto the floor beside Lance, avoiding flailing limbs and flying cushions.

Pidge eventually stopped whacking Matt, settling in Keith’s vacated seat.

“Wow, Hunk, you are really not good at this,” she said as she tuned back into the game.

“He’s better than Keith,” Lance replied, earning himself a sharp jab in the ribs, “You can prove me wrong.”

He held out the controller, jiggling it a little. Keith scoffed, rolling his eyes and shoving the controller away.

“No, I’m good thanks,” he said.

“That’s because you know you suck,” Lance jeered.

A muscle jumped in Keith’s jaw and for a second, Lance thought he had him.

“No, I’m fine. You died by the way.”

“What!?” Lance screeched, head snapping back to the screen. Sure enough, the death screen was flashing up. “No!”

Everyone barked out a laugh, well, Shiro had never stopped laughing. Lance flailed for a minute, before going limp.

“Hunk, my man, you were supposed to have my back!” Lance lamented.

“You know I’m not good at this game,” Hunk protested, “You were the one who got all distracted!”

“Gah!” Lance cried, “Right, we’re trying again.”

****

Lance blinked as the first drop of rain hit his forehead, frowning and looking up at the heavy clouds. He hadn’t brought an umbrella, or a coat. It had been hot and sunny when he’d set off to work this morning; he hadn’t expected the rain. Oh well, it wasn’t far to his flat anyway.

Lance loved water, no matter what shape or form, and it had been a long time since Lance had been out in the rain. He’d just been too busy. A second drop hit his cheek, running down to drip off his chin. It felt surprisingly nice. So, when the heavens opened and rain started pounding down, Lance didn’t bother dashing for cover. Instead, he let the rain soak him.

Allura had come into the restaurant today for lunch with her uncle. It had been the first time he’d seen her since the date. Even though they’d parted amicably, and agreed to remain friends, they had been avoiding each other, just to try and stop the awkwardness. Lance had _tried_ to keep things not awkward. It should have just been a normal interaction. It had ended up being awkward.

They’d gone on a date. The date had failed. No big deal, dates fail all the time. Lance had pretty much expected it. So, why did he still get a stupid pang through his chest when he thought about it? It was stupid. He’d told Pidge and Hunk he was fine. He _wanted_ to be fine.

The rain had soaked right through his clothes, making Lance shiver. He needed to let go. They’d said that maybe in the future they could try again, but Lance couldn’t hang on to that. He needed to move on. To move on, and to let go.

Lance stopped walking, staring into space. The application for what was essentially his dream job was still sat on his computer. He hadn’t had the guts to look or think about it. Maybe, just maybe, it was time to. To start out anew.

Newly determined, Lance marched home. It wouldn’t solve all his problems, but it was a good start.

But first, he needed a hot shower. Now that his mind was a bit more clear, Lance was starting to get really cold. He didn’t want to get pneumonia. Hunk would never let him hear the end of it.

****

Lance stared at the application on his laptop. It was now or never! If he didn’t do it now, Lance wouldn’t apply. Didn’t stop him being incredibly nervous. He’d put it off for a day, but now was the time. Maybe this wasn’t a good idea. No, no it was a good idea. This was a fantastic idea! He’d get his dream job! Nothing could be more perfect!!

Lance was a complete coward.

“Shiro,” he said into the phone, an unintentional whine in his voice.

“ _Lance? What’s up?”_ Shiro asked.

“So, I have the application open,” Lance said.

“ _So, you are applying? Good!”_ Shiro said brightly.

Lance chuckled awkwardly, “Well that’s the thing, I haven’t exactly filled it out yet…”

“ _Ah. So? Are you going to?”_

“… Yes?”

“ _Why does that sound like a question?”_

“I don’t know, Shiro, I’m nervous.”

Shiro laughed, his breath crackling over the phone. “ _Lance._ ”

“I know, I know, I’m being dumb,” Lance sighed, “But… I just? Shiro?”

“ _Lance._ ” Damnit, Lance needed to know how the hell to use that voice that was somehow able to instantly calm him down. “ _It’s going to be okay. You’re going to be just fine. You’re going to apply and it’s going to be great, okay?”_

Lance smiled slightly. “Yeah?”

“ _Yeah, of course. If not I’ll take you drinking, and buy all your drinks.”_

“Can I get hammered?”

“ _Lance_ ,” Shiro laughed.

“Alright, alright,” Lance said, “I’ll apply.”

“ _Yes! Go for it!”_ Shiro cheered.

“Yes!” Lance replied, “I shall!”

He hung up to the sound of Shiro’s laughter, using the boost of confidence talking to him had given. The application wasn’t particularly hard to fill out, a few tricky bits here and there but soon enough, Lance had it completed. Before he could chicken out, Lance hit submit.

****

Lance couldn’t just hang around in his apartment. Well, he _could_ , but he’d already nervously scrubbed the entire place. He couldn’t hoover anymore. No more! Grabbing his jumper—it was still a little chilly out—and his keys, Lance headed out of his flat.

He made his way to the nearest park, and, shoving his hands in his jeans pockets, Lance set off at a brisk walk. He just needed to… clear his head… yeah. Lance was sure he didn’t look like a crazy person, marching at almost full speed through the park.

Enthusiastic barking met his ears and Lance turned around to see a very large, very enthusiastic black dog bounding towards him.

“No! Wait!” a very familiar voice shouted.

Lance smiled. “Hey, Cosmo.”

Cosmo bounded up, luckily Lance braced himself, so he wasn’t flattened when he jumped up.

“Hey buddy,” Lance greeted brightly, scratching Cosmo’s neck.

“Lance?” Keith said, jogging up, “Hey, what are… hey?”

Lance snorted, dropping Cosmo back to the ground. He immediately began running around Lance’s legs, knocking into him occasionally.

“Hi.” Lance smiled. “I didn’t know you walked Cosmo around here.”

Keith shrugged. “I don’t always. Only for short walks, really. What are you doing out here?”

Lance shrugged too. “Walking. Taking my mind off things.”

“Oh… Well, fancy joining us?” Keith offered, “I think Cosmo would like it.”

Cosmo was basically bouncing in place, yapping excitedly. His loose lead was flapping around. Clearly he’d wrenched himself out of Keith’s grip.

Lance smiled. “Yeah, sure. Your hand okay?”

Keith frowned in confusion, and Lance reached down to grab Cosmo’s lead, holding it out. Keith sighed, taking it from him.

“Yeah, it’s fine. It’s not the first time he’s done this.”

“Wow,” Lance said, “You need to train him better.”

Keith huffed, “He hasn’t done it in ages, it’s your fault.”

Lance gasped in mock-offence, “How dare you?! Just because I’m the better cuddler and he very clearly appreciates my superiority, does not mean you can blame me.”

Keith snorted, giving Lance a shove and rolling his eyes. “I’m starting to regret inviting you.”

“Ah, ah, ah, you can’t, no backsies!” Lance declared, poking Keith lightly.

“I take it back. You can’t come.” And he set off, Cosmo excitedly following.

“No, no, no,” Lance said, “You can’t stop me. This is a park! I can walk wherever I want and I’m walking with you.”

Keith was shaking his head, but he was smiling so Lance counted that as a win.

The two—well, three—of them walked together. Cosmo seemed very happy trotting alongside them, tail flicking from side to side. Lance babbled for a bit, he didn’t actually know if Keith was listening to him but he wasn’t telling Lance to be quiet.

Eventually they reached the park’s small, outdoor coffee stand, a few tables scattered around it.

“Fancy stopping?” Keith asked.

Lance patted his pockets down. “I… ah… didn’t bring my wallet.”

Keith rolled his eyes. “My treat, I guess.”

“Yay!” Lance said brightly.

Keith rolled his eyes again, but still bought Lance his coffee so it didn’t really matter.

The two of them sat down at one of the furthest tables, in the hopes of keeping Cosmo calm. He seemed content under the table, so it worked. The pair sat together in silence for a while. Lance tilted his head back, appreciating the spring sun on his face, the smell of fresh green.

Keith cleared his throat, making Lance jump a little. He blinked his eyes back open, looking over at Keith. Lance smiled lightly, tilting his head to one side, waiting for Keith to get his words together.

“Are you doing alright?” Keith asked.

Lance blinked. “Huh?”

“I heard about you and Allura,” Keith explained, running his finger around the rim of his drink.

Lance banged his head slightly on the table. “Why does everyone keep asking me that?” he groaned, propping his chin up, “I’m fine.”

Keith raised an eyebrow, Lance huffed.

“I am,” he insisted, “Really, I’m fine.”

“Then why did I find you wandering out in the park like you were trying to run away from your problems?”

“What?” Lance said, far too high in pitch.

“Lance, come on,” Keith pushed, “You’re not particularly convincing.”

With a long breath, Lance picked up his drink and swirled it slightly, before taking a sip.

“I mean you don’t have to tell me,” Keith hurriedly said, “If you don’t want to.”

“Nah, it’s… fine,” Lance sighed, “I sent in my application for what is basically my dream job and I’m kind of freaking out a little.”

“Oh,” Keith said, blinking, “Ohhhh.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Yeah, oh.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll be fine!”

Lance raised his eyebrows. “That makes me feel so much better,” he drawled sarcastically.

Keith frowned, crossing his arms with a slight pout that was a little adorable. “I’m trying. “I’m not good at this!”

Lance snorted. “I know buddy, don’t worry,” he said, smiling lightly, “It’s fine, you offer a good distraction.”

Keith huffed, before loosening his arms and leaning back. “Look, you’ll be fine. You won’t get the job if you don’t apply after all.”

Lance snorted softly, Keith huffed again.

“Thanks, buddy,” Lance said.

Keith rolled his eyes, but smiled. “You know. Sometimes I think you’re just being intentionally awkward to annoy me.”

Lance fake-gasped, clutching his chest, “How… how very dare you! I feel… so attacked right now!”

Keith snorted, kicking Lance lightly in the shin. It didn’t hurt in the slightest. It did disturb Cosmo though, making him get up and shove his face onto Lance’s knee.

Laughing, Lance scratched Cosmo between his ears. “Your owner is so mean to me, isn’t he? Huh? Isn’t he?”

Keith rolled his eyes, holding his hand out for Lance’s cup. “Come on, I better finish off our walk,” he said, tossing the two cups away.

“Yeah, I better be getting back too,” Lance said with a long breath.

“You’re going to be fine,” Keith assured, grabbing Cosmo’s lead, “You always have this way of getting through things.”

“I think you’re getting the two of us mixed up,” Lance said, smiling, “I’ll see you later.”

“Well, I’ll tell you I told you so when you succeed,” Keith replied, “See you later.”

Lance stuck his tongue out, Keith rolled his eyes.

“Real mature.”

“Bye!” Lance said brightly back, waving.

He turned to leave, choosing to ignore whatever retort Keith came up with.

****

“Hey, loser,” Veronica said, “Long time no see.”

Dropping her suitcase by the door, she squished Lance in a hug, ruffling his hair.

“Charming as always,” Lance deadpanned.

Veronica laughed, kicking the door closed. “Don’t you know it,” she replied, dragging her suitcase further into the flat, “Now, how’s my favourite brother doing?”

“I don’t know, haven’t talked to him recently.”

Veronica stuck her tongue out. “Please, like you don’t know you’re my favourite.”

“I’m fine thanks. How’s my second favourite sister?”

Giving him a swift punch in the arm, Veronica snorted, “Ass.”

“You know where the spare room is, any preference for dinner?”

“I’m fine thanks for asking,” Veronica said, rolling her eyes, “Yes and no, make whatever.”

“Who said I’m cooking?”

“Mom would be so disappointed.”

“Mom doesn’t have to know.”

“I’m pretty sure Mom already knows.”

“I don’t doubt that.”

****

The two of them sat on the sofa, unbelievably unhealthy pizza between the two of them and complete trash on TV. It was nice; they didn’t get to do this often.

“So, come on, what’s new?” Veronica asked, “You can’t possibly have done nothing since the last time we spoke.”

“Oh you know, just applied for my dream job, went on a date with Allura, the usual,” Lance shrugged.

“Wait, wait, wait, wait,” Veronica said, holding her hands up, “Slow down… dream job? Allura? What?”

“Which one do you want to hear about first?” Lance asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Um… Allura! No job! Wait, no, Allura! No, no, no, job first!” Veronica sputtered, gesturing wildly.

“So?”

“Job,” Veronica decided, nodding.

Lance smiled. “Nothing really exciting. I applied and we’ve got to see what will happen. It just, looks like a really good opportunity.”

“Oh, that’s fantastic!” Veronica said, clapping her hands, “You have to let me know what happens!”

“Don’t worry, I will, but you can’t tell anyone else. Not until I know what’s happening with it. They’ll get far too overexcited.”

Veronica rolled her eyes and nodded. “Oh yeah, I get it. Now tell me about Allura.”

“There’s nothing really to tell, we went on a date and decided we weren’t really suited for it. We’re better as friends.” Lance shrugged.

“Ah. That sucks.”

Lance shrugged again. “A little? But I get it, she’s still not over him so it’s not really fair… It’s not like I wasn’t expecting it.”

Veronica hummed, “Still sucks though?”

Lance let out a long breath, shaking his head, “Yeah, still sucks though.”

The two of them sat in silence for a little while, watching whatever Lance had thrown on TV. Veronica seemed to be getting fidgety, tapping her knees slightly. Lance stretched out with a hum, she clearly wanted to say something.

“So, what’s new with you?” Lance asked, “Surely you’ve done something interesting.”

“I… ah… suppose you could say that,” Veronica stammered, “I’m actually… ah… dating someone now.”

“Oh!” Lance said brightly, “That’s great! Well, at least one of our love lives is going alright. So, what’s his name? What’s he like?”

“Well that’s the thing,” Veronica said, “They’re… not a he.”

Lance blinked, taking a minute for his brain to catch up to what Veronica had said. His eyes widened, eyebrows shooting up into his hairline.

“Oh,” Lance said, “Ohhhhh, I didn’t know you…”

Veronica snorted, “Neither did I. Turns out, if you spend all your time focusing on your work, you miss a few things.”

“Wow… Well, what’s her name and what’s she like?” Lance asked, leaning forwards.

Veronica smiled and then started to talk.


	6. May

Lance looked up as he heard an enthusiastic bark, that was quickly followed by a shout.

“Cosmo! No!”

Lance turned and sure enough, a familiar big black dog was bounding towards him. This time though, Keith hadn’t let him go, so he was being dragged along behind.

“Hey, Keith,” Lance called, waving.

“Hi, Lance,” Keith called back, “No! Cosmo! It’s only Lance.”

Lance laughed, bending down and holding open his arms. Cosmo barked, hitting Lance at almost full speed, resting his paws on Lance’s shoulder.

Laughing, Lance wrapped his arms around the big fluffy body. “Hey, boy!”

Keith let out a long breath, crossing his arms. “I can’t believe this, you are a terrible influence. He only acts like this around you,” he said, scratching behind Cosmo’s ears.

“Sorry,” Lance laughed, “It’s not my fault he loves me so much. Hey, buddy, yes, yes, I love you too.”

Lance stood and Cosmo dropped back to the ground then began dancing around their legs, tail flicking happily as he yapped.

“I do know you’re a good boy, hey, buddy,” Lance cooed.

“No way, he’s been nothing but trouble,” Keith said, scratching Como’s side lightly with his foot.

Cosmo flopped over, tail thumping on the ground.

“Awh, you can’t say that about the poor puppy,” Lance said with a grin.

Keith barked out a laugh, shaking his head. “Poor puppy, sure.” Keith nudged Cosmo lightly, making him roll over. “Now we need to get on with our jog. I need to try and work some of the energy out of him.”

“I can see that,” Lance agreed, as Cosmo rolled over again.

Keith nodded. “Come on, buddy.”

Cosmo took this literally, shooting to his feet and darting off. Unfortunately, his lead was still tightly clasped in Keith’s hand, as well as being wrapped tightly around Lance’s legs.

Lance yelped, Keith swore as the two of them crashed together. Keith’s face smashed into Lance’s chest, the lead wrapped tightly around his legs causing Lance to overbalance. The two of them went tumbling to the ground. Lance winced as he hit the ground, groaning as Keith landed on top of him.

“Oh, god,” Lance groaned, trying to reclaim the air Keith had knocked out of him.

“Oh no, sorry,” Keith said, pushing himself up, “Are you alright?”

“Ow,” Lance replied, sitting up and rubbing his head, “I’m fine, it was just a slight knock.”

“Are you sure?” Keith asked, kneeling up and running his hands over Lance’s head, “You did hit the ground pretty hard.”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just a little tangled.”

Keith let out a long breath. “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it. It happens… well, no it doesn’t usually.”

Keith laughed and Lance couldn’t help but join him. God, this was so stupid. Cosmo was stood to the side, his tongue hanging out.

“Get off me,” Lance laughed, “And get me untangled from this.”

Lance whacked Keith in the shoulder and… wait… had Keith always been this muscular? Like sure, he’d always been pretty buff—Lance was positive that just came from hanging out with Shiro—but damn, what the hell had Keith been doing?

Keith pushed off to kneel beside Lance instead of on top of him, reaching down to help unravel Lance’s legs from Cosmo’s lead.

“I am really sorry,” Keith said, finally freeing Lance.

“Don’t worry about it,” Lance replied.

Standing up, Keith offered his hand to Lance. Smiling, Lance took it and allowed Keith to haul him to his feet. It seemed to take absolutely no effort on Keith’s part whatsoever, seriously, what the hell? Cosmo seemed content sat there, looking between the two of them, tongue hanging out.

“Don’t do that again,” Keith ordered, turning to Cosmo, “You know not to do this.”

Lance snorted softly, shaking his head. “I’m just irresistible,” Lance smirked.

Keith rolled his eyes, tugging lightly on Cosmo’s lead. He clambered to his feet, flicking his tail lightly.

“Come on,” he said, “We need to keep going before Shiro decides to try and cook again.”

Lance pulled a face, patting Cosmo one last time on the head. “He won’t get that hungry… will he?”

Keith shot him a dark, long-suffering look.

“Alright, I’ll see you later then,” Lance said, smiling.

“If I don’t make it back, assume Shiro has burnt the house down,” Keith replied dryly.

Lance snorted, waving the two of them off as Keith and Cosmo jogged away. Lance watched them go, tracing his eyes down Keith’s back. Really what the hell was going on with Keith? How did he look so good? Lance blinked, realising he’d been staring a bit lower than Keith’s back. Ok no, even more what the hell. Shoving his hands into his pockets, Lance went on his way.

****

“Guys, you’re not helping,” Hunk complained, flicking his spatula at Lance and Pidge.

“We’re not here to help,” Lance stated.

“We are here to hover,” Pidge added.

Hunk rolled his eyes, covering Lance’s face with his hand to shove him away. He and Pidge had rested their chins on the breakfast bar, looking dolefully at Hunk, who was currently trying to bake brownies. He kept getting distracted by their pathetic noises though.

The front door opened and Shay made her way in, tugging her shoes off in the hallway. Her eyes scanned over the scene, before a big smile spread over her face.

“What are we begging for?” she asked, dropping her briefcase.

“Brownies,” Pidge said.

“Sweet,” Shay cheered, joining the two of them.

“Awh no, come on guys!” Hunk whined, “You can’t do this to me. I need to finish first.”

“Brownies,” Pidge hissed.

“Brownies,” Lance joined in.

“Right, that’s it,” Hunk said, grabbing a tea towel, “Go on! Git! Git!”

He chased the three of them away from the kitchen, causing them to laugh as they tripped over each other as they ran to the living room.

“Right, sit,” Hunk said firmly, “And no moving until I’m finished, okay?”

“I think you’re pushing your luck,” Lance said.

Pidge nodded, a serious look on her face.

“We will try our best,” Shay said, “I’m not making any promises though.”

Pidge shook her head.

“Stay,” Hunk ordered.

Lance put his hand up.

Hunk looked at him, before letting out a long sigh and pinching the bridge of his nose. “Yes, Lance?”

“What if we have to pee?”

Hunk blinked, before thwacking Lance with the towel.

“Owwww,” Lance said.

“Stay,” Hunk repeated, before making his way back into the kitchen.

“So… how was work today, Shay?” Lance asked, kicking his feet up.

“It was good, long though. We got a new delivery today and a few bouquets we needed to construct,” she explained, “We’ve got a wedding to set up for next week, so we’re trying to get everything finished before that.”

“Oh boy,” Lance said sarcastically, “Sounds fun.”

Shay let out a breathy laugh. “Luckily she’s not as… ah… opinionated as the last one.”

“You mean she’s not a complete bitch,” Pidge pointed out.

“Well I wouldn’t put it that way…” Shay said, smiling lightly.

“So, complete bridezilla?” Lance offered, supporting his chin with his hand.

“Same thing,” Pidge shrugged.

Shay shook her head, but she was laughing quietly.

“Who wants to lick out the bowl?” Hunk called from the kitchen.

Lance and Pidge glanced at each other, before they both jumped to their feet.

“I do!” they both shouted.

They made a mad dash for the kitchen, shoving each other away, both trying to reach the kitchen first.

“You know there’s raw egg in this right?” Hunk asked as Lance shoved Pidge over.

“Worth it!” he shouted, grabbing the bowl.

Pidge jumped onto his back, trying to reach some batter.

“You know what, next time I’ll make double the batter,” Hunk said, “Leave a tray’s worth raw.”

“It wouldn’t be the same,” Pidge said.

“And we would eat too much and not have room for the cooked brownies,” Lance scoffed, “You really didn’t think this through, Hunk.”

****

Lance clicked his pen, letting out a huff of breath as he gazed around the almost empty restaurant. Honestly, slow days were awful, not as bad as too busy days, but still. Lance was bored. There was only so many times he could wipe a table down.

The bell ringing was almost a relief. Lance perked up even more when he realised he recognised the person who walked in. She was very quickly seated and Lance pushed himself up to stand straighter.

“Oh, hey, Romelle,” Lance greeted, wandering over to her table, “Didn’t expect to see you here.”

“I’m meeting Allura and Pidge,” she replied, eyes flicking over the menu, “We’re having a girls shopping trip.”

“Sounds nice,” Lance said, pulling out his notepad, “Do you want a drink while you’re waiting?”

Romelle hummed, before letting out a sigh, “Yeah, I guess, they are running late though.”

“Well, yeah,” Lance said, “I don’t know what you were expecting. Pidge always runs half an hour late to everything.”

“And Allura?” Romelle asked, tiling her head to one side, “She’s usually on time?”

“Unless she’s picking up Pidge,” Lance replied, “Which makes both of them only fifteen minutes late.”

“Ah. I’ll get a drink then.”

“Yup, no problem. So, what can I get you?”

There weren’t very many customers there, so Lance stayed and chatted to Romelle for a little bit. They didn’t really get a chance to talk a lot. Sure she was a nice enough person, but the one issue was Romelle tended to be… a bit much after a while. He hated to admit it, but that fifteen minutes before Allura and Pidge arrived was more than enough time.

****

“I brought dinner!” Lance said brightly, holding up his bag.

“Oh, thank you! I was getting sick of Keith’s cooking,” Shiro said, stepping back to let Lance in.

“Hey!” Keith’s voice protested from somewhere deep in the house, “My cooking is a million times better than yours!”

“Yeah, but there are only so many times I can eat eggs,” Shiro called, “I’ll start clucking soon!”

“I don’t just cook eggs!”

With an excited bark, Cosmo hopped off the sofa to follow them into the kitchen, trying to trip Lance up several times along the way.

“Oh yeah, I forgot about your mastery of beans,” Shiro called back, “Sorry.”

Keith peered around the corner, flipping Shiro off before vanishing again. Lance laughed, pulling food containers out of the bag and onto the counter.

“I also brought dessert,” Lance added.

“Score!” Shiro shouted.

Cosmo sat himself down at Lance’s feet, flicking his tail from side to side happily.

“Did someone say dessert?” Keith asked, wandering in.

He’d clearly just got out of the shower, hair still slightly damp where it was tied up and sticking to his face. Lance blinked, eyes flicking over the wet strands. Shaking himself slightly, Lance’s eyes went back to the food. He reached out and tapped the container full of cookies.

“It’s nothing that exciting.”

“Better than anything we could do,” Shiro grinned.

Keith shuffled around, peering through the clear lid of the container. “They look good.”

“Old family recipe, they should taste amazing,” Lance said.

“Should?” Keith frowned.

“Well, the recipe is good, but only as good as the cook,” Lance replied, grinning, “Which is why I never lend any recipes to Shiro.”

“Good idea,” Keith agreed, “You don’t want the recipes ruined forever.”

Shiro huffed, “You two are so mean to me!”

Lance patted him on the shoulder. “We’re just being honest, buddy.”

****

It was nice, sitting down for dinner with Keith and Shiro. He sometimes forgot how great it was to chat with Shiro; they had almost the exact same sense of humour. Having Keith there just made the whole thing more funny, what with all the faces he was pulling, and him repeatedly banging his head on the table.

Eventually, due to having to get up early the next morning, Shiro was forced to retreat to bed. Lance stayed for a little while to chat with Keith, the two of them kicking back on the deck in the back garden, Cosmo laid across their feet. It was nice, it was easy, it was comfortable.

“I… when did this start?” Keith asked, gesturing idly, “You know, bringing food and stuff.”

Lance tilted his head backwards and letting out a long breath. “After the accident,” he said quietly, “Shiro, was a complete wreck. He wouldn’t eat, barely left his house, wouldn’t talk to us. So, I just took to bringing him food to, you know, at least try and get him to eat. It worked? Sort of? Took a while, but, we got to talking and eating. It sort of became a routine.”

Keith sighed, dropping to look at his hands. “I should’ve been there. I should have helped.”

“You didn’t know.” Lance shrugged. “There wasn’t really anything you could’ve done.”

“I should have kept in touch. I should have stayed. I left you guys to deal with all this crap.”

“You couldn’t have known this would have happened,” Lance sighed, “You needed to go. You found your mom.”

“I could have still stayed in touch,” Keith insisted, “Shiro has always been there for me, and I… I wasn’t there for him.”

Lance glanced over at Keith, surprised at the unexpected vulnerability. Reaching over, he rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder, giving it a light squeeze. Keith inhaled sharply, looking over at Lance. It remined him of that time, what felt like so long ago, when Shiro was MIA and Lance had to comfort Keith. The event that broke through the barrier they had built between them, the event that had allowed them to become really close friends.

“You can’t think like that,” Lance said, “You can’t change what you did and didn’t do. What matters is you’re here now and… you’re probably helping more than you think.”

Keith let out another long breath, before he shot Lance a soft smile. Lance felt his heart stutter slightly. Alright, that was strange. There was no time to think about that though, he had a Keith to comfort.

“Come on, you’re good. You have your mom and a dog now. You’re, you know,” Lance said, gesturing to Keith, “Leaving did you good and sure, it sucked, but we managed. You know I’m not angry anymore right?”

“Yeah, I know. Thanks, Lance.”

Lance smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”

“No, really, thank you,” Keith said.

“Oh don’t—” Lance started, but was suddenly pulled into an unexpected hug.

The angle was very awkward, the two of them sat side by side. Keith’s chest was also very hard, particularly where Lance’s nose smashed into it. Even so, it was nice. Lance curled his own arms around Keith’s shoulders, pulling him slightly closer and giving him a light squeeze.

“Your welcome, buddy,” Lance said quietly.

****

Lance was having a crisis. A complete and utter nightmare. Burrowing himself under the covers, Lance let out a long, groaning, kind of pathetic noise. Goddamn why couldn’t he just keep repressing it? Ignore it and maybe it would go away.

There was a soft, chirruping meow, before tiny paws padded over his covered head. Lance lifted the covers slightly, allowing Red to slip under and curl up against his chest.

“Hey, buddy,” Lance murmured.

Red mowed again, starting to purr. Then a wet nose touched his foot and Lance laughed, fighting his instincts to kick out.

“Come here, Blue,” Lance called softly, “Up here.”

She padded up, splaying out on top of Red.

“Alright, girls,” he said, scratching behind their ears, “You’re so good to me girls.”

They rubbed against his chest, purring happily.

“You wouldn’t judge me, would you?”

Blue moved so she was right in front of Lance’s face, trying to suffocate him with her fur. Chuckling, Lance pushed her away a bit so he wasn’t inhaling fur on every breath.

“I… I think I might like boys?” Lance said quietly.

As expected, there was no reaction from his cats. Except for Blue rolling over to press her paws into his face.

“Well… one boy in particular.” Lance let out a long sigh. “Goddamnit, this is a nightmare.”

Lance had, sort of, suspected he liked guys a little bit. It had never really been something he’d thought too hard about though. He liked girls, he dated girls, he’d never thought about guys that way. He thought it was just an aesthetic attraction. Until now.

“Gah, I think I like Keith,” Lance muttered, “Well this is a right mess, of all the guys I could’ve liked, it had to be the one I see almost every day.” Lance draped an arm over his eyes. “I like guys. I like guys that way. Blue, Red, what do I do?”

They didn’t answer. Of course they didn’t, they were cats. Although they were very good listeners, they weren’t very good at giving advice. Lance booped Blue’s nose lightly, causing her to chirrup. Red draped herself over Lance’s arm.

“Yeah,” Lance said quietly, “I love you too.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have nothing to say...it's late...this is a thing  
> Enjoy


	7. June

Lance was having a crisis. A complete meltdown. An “oh dear god what is happening” freak-out. He _could not_ deal with this. There were so many other things going on in his life, why was now the time for him to have an epiphany about his sexuality?! This wouldn’t normally be a problem, but now it seemed like Keith was just everywhere and, now that Lance had realised it, it was getting difficult to act normal around him. It also made ignoring the whole feelings-sexuality… thing all the more difficult, Lance was well aware ignoring it was probably not the way to go, but honestly, he didn’t care.

“…ance… Lance!”

Lance was snapped out of his thoughts by Hunk’s concerned voice. Blinking back into reality, Lance asked, “Sorry what?”

“We were asking if you wanted to go to the cinema Friday,” Hunk said, “Are you doing okay, buddy?”

“Oh yeah, that’s fine. I get off at two Friday, so as long as it’s after that,” Lance replied.

“After two,” Pidge mumbled, scrolling on her phone looking for movie times.

Hunk frowned. “Are you sure? You’re a bit… well… out of it?”

“Yeah, I’m fine, just thinking,” Lance said.

Pidge snorted, “Try not to hurt yourself.”

Lance cuffed her on the back of the head.

“You seem… very preoccupied by it,” Hunk said, tilting his head to one side.

“Don’t worry, it’s nothing too big.”

Lies, lies, lies! It was a huge, slightly terrifying thing! But he wasn’t going to tell Hunk that. He didn’t need any more on his plate, especially as Lance wasn’t really sure if he wanted to talk about it at all.

“You are in very deep thought though,” Hunk prodded, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you think this hard about something since your dissertation.”

Lance waved him off. “I’m just working some things out.”

“Well, you know you can talk to me, right?”

“Us,” Pidge added, tilting her head back to look up at them.

“Us,” Hunk agreed.

“Yeah, I know,” Lance said, “I just want to sort things through myself first.”

He didn’t. That was a lie. He wanted to ignore the problem completely. Hunk wouldn’t take that answer though.

“Alright,” Hunk relented, still frowning in concern, “If you’re sure.”

“I’m sure,” Lance replied.

****

“Hey, Lance,” Plaxum asked, “Are you alright?”

Lance blinked and frowned, shaking his head to get out of his thoughts. “Sorry? What?”

Plaxum tilted her head. “Are you alright? You seem sort of… spaced out.”

“I’m okay,” Lance said, “Sorry, I’ve just got some things on my mind.”

“Oh? Anything wrong?”

“No, I’m just doing some… personal reflection,” Lance sighed, “Or—well I’m trying to avoid it.”

“Ah,” Plaxum said, “Yeah, that’s not great.”

“Sorry, I’ll get back to work. Need to stop getting distracted.”

“No, it’s okay. I mean you’re still actually doing some work,” she said, “Do you want to talk about it?”

“I did say I was trying to avoid it,” Lance sighed again, “So not really.”

Plaxum hummed. “You know, that’s not the best idea.”

“I know. But I’m going to keep doing that.”

“Wow,” Plaxum said flatly, “Just, wow.”

Lance shrugged. “That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it. Anyway, I have some orders to take and some customers to tend to.”

“Wow,” Plaxum said again as Lance walked away.

****

“Lance? Are you alright?” This time, those words came from Keith.

Lance pinched the bridge of his nose, before moving to rub his temples. “Yeah, I just have a headache.”

A living headache that took the form of the guy currently sitting by him. The unfortunately cute, unfortunately hot guy with an incredible ass. Oh god, Lance was somehow falling even deeper. Stupid Keith and his stupid ass.

“Oh,” Hunk said, “Do you want me to dim the lights?”

“No, I’m okay. I’m just going to grab a drink,” Lance sighed, standing up.

“Do you want me grab you some painkillers?” Keith asked, frowning slightly at him.

Damnit, stupid Keith and his stupid caring for Lance’s wellbeing.

“No, it’s okay,” Lance insisted, “I just haven’t drunk enough today.”

“I told you,” Hunk said, “You need to drink more! You’re going to become dehydrated and get sick.”

“Hunk, I’m fine, I’ve just been busy. Geez.” Lance shook his head.

“I’ll pause the movie,” Pidge said, rolling her eyes, “Go before Hunk starts to really freak out.”

Lance snorted, before hopping over Shiro’s legs to get to the kitchen. Cosmo picked himself up from his place splayed out across Pidge’s leg, following Lance to the kitchen.

Man, he needed to get a grip. Grabbing a glass out of the cupboard, Lance quickly filled and drained it. Placing it back on the counter, Lance let out a huff of breath. Resting a hand over his face, Lance rubbed it harshly. Damnit. Cosmo made a soft sound and pressed his nose into Lance’s hand.

“Oh, sorry, buddy,” Lance murmured, “Am I not paying you enough attention?”

He began to scratch Cosmo’s ears, who flopped to sit, leaning against his leg.

“Hey, are you sure you don’t want some painkillers,” Keith’s voice sounded from the doorway.

Lance jumped a little, turning towards him. Backlit from the living room, Keith looked so damn pretty.

Lance sighed, turning back to fill his glass again. “Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, just having a bit of a rough time. Insomnia’s flaring up again.”

That wasn’t a complete lie, Lance had been having trouble sleeping.

“Oh,” Keith said, “Anything I can help with?”

Lance felt the corner of his mouth quirk up. “No, I’m just going to have to let it run its course again. Probably need to work out what’s causing it.”

Keith hummed, “Okay, just—” Keith let out a long breath, Lance turned back to look at him. He was gripping his arm, shuffling from foot-to-foot. “If you need someone to talk to, I’m here, okay?”

Lance smiled. Cosmo let out a slight yip, rubbing his face against Lance’s side.

Keith smiled. “I mean, I guess you could talk to Cosmo. He is a good listener.”

“I don’t doubt it,” Lance said, scratching Cosmo again.

“Hey!” Pidge shouted from the living room, “We’re going to start the movie without you!”

“Alright!” Lance shouted back, “We’ll be right there! Geez.”

****

Lance pet Blue absentmindedly as he stared out of his apartment window, watching the rain make tracks down the glass. He couldn’t sleep. Lance’s insomnia hadn’t flared up in a good long while, not since he’d graduated and got a rejection from his perfect job. Stress-induced insomnia, because not sleeping makes everything better!

Lance picked Blue up, cradling her against his chest. She immediately went limp, purring happily. He buried his face in her soft fur, groaning.

“This is ridiculous, Blue,” Lance sighed.

She gave a little mew, patting his shoulder lightly with her paw. Lance cooed quietly, scratching behind her ears.

“I’m being dumb, aren’t I?” Lance said, gathering her tightly in his arms, “This isn’t working.”

Blue head-butted his chin, padding his shoulder.

“My mama would be so disappointed if she found out I was avoiding my problems,” Lance muttered, “Oh. Mama. Okay, we are not mentioning any of this to my mama, alright, Blue?”

She didn’t reply—because she was a cat—but did snuggle closer. He’d take that as agreement.

“But I need to talk to someone. Who the hell should I talk to about these sorts of things?”

Not Hunk or Pidge. He loved the two of them to bits, but on matters of the heart they were completely useless and could, sometimes, be a bit mean. He couldn’t talk to Allura about this. They were friends, but talking about their respective love lives was still a little awkward. He definitely couldn’t talk to Keith about this… for obvious reasons. That only left one other person.

Shiro had been a huge help when Lance was having his job crisis… maybe he could talk to Shiro about this too.

Lance yawned, before huffing slightly. It was 3am. He didn’t have work in the morning, so it wasn’t essential for him to be up early, but at the very least he had to try to get some sleep. Making sure Blue was secure in his arms, Lance stood up. She didn’t bother moving, in fact, she just seemed to go even more limp.

“Daft thing,” Lance snorted.

He made his way into his bedroom, placing Blue down besides Red at the bottom of the bed. Red looked up at him slightly offended, before closing her eyes. Lance clambered into bed, placing his noise-cancelling headphones and sleeping mask into place. He had to at least try to talk to someone. Even if his stomach was still churning with his decision.

****

Lance was thinking maybe this was a terrible idea. Why should he sort through his feelings? God, this conversation was going to be so awkward.

Lance had made completely sure Keith would be at work when Lance came over delivering food. The last thing he needed was for him to interrupt them… or be there.

“Are you alright, Lance?” Shiro asked.

Lance blinked, letting out a huff of a laugh. “You know, I’ve been asked that a lot recently,” he said, dropping his head back.

“Well?”

Lance sighed, placing his foot on the floor. Cosmo hopped up onto the sofa beside him, resting his head in Lance’s lap, settling his butt between him and Shiro. Lance began to absentmindedly stroke him.

“I’m… not fantastic,” Lance began, looking down at Cosmo’s furry head, “I’ve been doing some self-reflection, which has been causing me insomnia, so, I’m a little rough.”

Lance could almost pretend he was only talking to Cosmo. That made the whole process a hell of a lot easier. “I think—I might like boys? Well, one particular boy? I don’t know. I’m a bit lost on what’s going on. I mean, I like girls. I know I like girls, but now apparently I like boys too? Or well one boy? But I’m not even sure I like him? I mean I think I do, but maybe not—” Lance was babbling, he knew he was babbling but he just couldn’t stop talking. He was twisting his fingers in Cosmo’s fur, taking some comfort in the thick fluff.

“Lance,” Shiro said, resting his hand on Lance’s arm and cutting off his rambling, “Take a deep breath, okay?”

Lance did as Shiro instructed, giving himself a minute for his brain to catch up with what was going on.

“I think I like a boy,” Lance stated plainly, “But I’m not sure what to do because this has never happened before.”

“Right,” Shiro said, before frowning.

“And I just think I wanted someone to talk to about it?” Lance explained, Cosmo whined when he stopped petting him. “Sorry, buddy.”

Shiro nodded. “Okay. So you think you like a boy, but you’re not sure, and you want to talk to me about it?”

“Yeah, I—I know it’s a bit late to have a revelation like this.”

“Lance, it’s never too late to have a revelation like this,” Shiro assured, “If it’s one boy, or many boys, it doesn’t matter. It’s still as important as you want to make it.”

“But what if I don’t actually like him?”

“That’s okay too. You are allowed to work these things out.”

“I just don’t know?” Lance sighed, “I just feel a little… lost?”

“Alright, I’ll give you the advice my father gave me,” Shiro said, “He said: ‘Son, take some time for yourself. Take some time to work yourself out and what you want.’ If at the end of this you work out you like boys, that’s okay. If you work out you like girls, that’s okay. If you like both, that’s okay. If you like everyone or if you like no one, that’s okay. What’s important is that you work yourself out and you do what makes you happy.”

“I shouldn’t just ignore this, should I?”

“No. I don’t think it’s one of those problems that will sort itself out.”

Lance let out a long breath, burying his face in his hands.

“If in the end you realize you don’t like him, then you know. Even if you do like him and decide you don’t want to do anything, well that’s not an issue. But you’ll feel better if you work through your problems,” Shiro stated.

Lance groaned, “I was afraid you’d say that.”

Shiro smiled. “Sorry.”

Lance shook his head, feeling a slight smile twitch up the corner of his mouth.

“So, are you going to tell me who this person is or…?” Shiro prompted, raising an eyebrow.

“Or,” Lance replied, “No way am I telling you. You cannot keep a secret. Ever.”

“Ah, come on, that was one time!”

“It was multiple times.”

“Come on, you can trust me.”

“No.”

“Aww.”

There was a long pause as the two of them smiled to themselves.

Lance quietly broke the silence. “Thanks, Shiro.”

Shiro’s smile softened. “You’re welcome.”

****

Lance knew he had a great deal of self-reflection to do. So much. But to do that he needed to divide self-realisation into sections. No, he was not just procrastinating on actually thinking about himself. First thing first: did he actually like Keith in a romantic way? Unfortunately, that was a pretty open and shut case. He did like Keith, and more than just finding him physically attractive.

Great.

What he thought would be a long drawn out process ended up being all too simple. Now Lance had to face the realities of that situation.

Damnit.

****

Look, Lance was going to sort out his own problems. Eventually. Unfortunately, he didn’t exactly have all the time in the world—he had other things to do! Even more unfortunately, most of them included Keith. Lance hadn’t realised how much time he spent around Keith until he was suddenly hyper-aware of his presence. He couldn’t exactly avoid him—he didn’t want to raise suspicion.

“Hey, Lance!”

Lance tensed as he heard Keith’s voice, followed by a bark. Lance smiled, turning. “Hey, Keith.”

Lance caught Cosmo’s paws as he attempted to jump up, dropping him to the ground before crouching down to pet him. “Hey, buddy, how are you doing?” he asked. Cosmo tried to lick him but Lance shifted away slightly.

“He’s doing great,” Keith said, “Still growing. I have no idea how big he’ll get.”

Cosmo flopped onto the ground, rolling onto his back and starting to wriggle.

“That’s what happens when you get a mystery puppy!” Lance said brightly.

Keith hummed, rolling his eyes slightly. “Suppose you’re right,” he said, reaching out to poke Cosmo in the belly.

“What was that?” Lance asked, smirking and tilting his head to one side.

Keith rolled his eyes. “Nothing. Didn’t say a thing.”

“No, no I heard something?” Lance insisted, standing up, “Come on, what did you say?”

“Absolutely nothing, you must be hearing things,” Keith dodged.

“Now you’re just being argumentative.”

Keith barked out to laugh, before dissolving into a fit of giggles. Lance smiled. God, Keith’s laugh was beautiful. Ah, Lance was a sucker.

Lance stood up and stretched, letting out a slight groan.

“Fancy joining us for the rest of our walk?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.

It was adorable. Lance had to escape before he said something stupid. So he shrugged and said, “Nah, sorry, I need to get back. Have stuff to do.”

“Ahh, that’s a shame. Cosmo really likes spending time with you.”

“Well, at least someone appreciates me.”

Keith stuck his tongue out. Lance grinned.

“I’ll see you Friday. I’m assuming you’re coming out with us?” Lance asked.

“Yeah,” Keith said, “Wouldn’t miss it.”

With a final wave, the two of them parted ways. Lance finally felt like he could breathe again.

Unbidden, the thought of what it would be like to date Keith popped into his head. Lance had no idea what Keith would be like in a relationship. He’d never been around him when he’d had one. Even so, the thought was an incredibly nice one. Lance sighed. No more procrastinating, he needed to work through his own feelings. No matter how long it took, he needed the closure and just maybe he could get really lucky in his romantic endeavours. He wasn’t holding out too much hope.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lance be struggling with a revelation...I am fighting a cold...fun times!


	8. July

June ticked over to July much faster than Lance was expecting. In fact, it was a couple of days into July before Lance realised it was actually July. The temperature was steadily climbing, causing his work uniform to become insanely stuffy. Luckily someone’s jackass kids decided to get right under his feet and cause a huge tray of drinks to spill over him. Brilliant. It cooled him right off but left his uniform incredibly sticky and stained. It was fine. He got through it.

 **Pidge:** I’m outside your apartment

Lance blinked at the message on his phone, before shaking his head.

 **Lance:** Be there in five

It was not unusual for Pidge to swing by Lance’s apartment unexpectedly, it just meant he was having an afternoon of video games.

“Hey,” Lance greeted, raising his hand to Pidge who was leaning against his door.

“You should give me a key,” Pidge stated, pushing herself away from the door.

Lance laughed, shaking his head. “No way in hell. Do not trust you in the slightest.”

“Aww, come on,” Pidge said, grinning, “What’s the worse that can happen?”

“I probably can’t imagine what crazy stuff you’ll do,” Lance replied.

Pidge hummed, tapping her chin. She hummed even louder as they walked in. Lance rolled his eyes, chucking his keys into the bowl beside his door.

“Make yourself comfortable,” Lance said, gesturing to the sofa, “I just need to throw this in the wash.” He picked up the carrier bag containing his uniform, praying he could get the stains out.

“What happened?” Pidge asked, raising her eyebrows.

“Someone’s crotch goblins tripped me up when I was carrying a drink tray,” Lance sighed.

“And this is why I hate kids!”

Lance snorted. “I’m sure you wouldn’t mind well-behaved ones.”

“I can tolerate them,” Pidge conceded, “They’re okay. They’re passable.”

Lance smiled, shaking his head.

****

By the time Lance had come back into the living room, Pidge had a co-op game all set up and ready to go. Lance frowned a little. Maybe this wasn’t just a spontaneous drop-in session. Usually Pidge started with a fighting game before moving on to co-op. It was normally only when she was not feeling all that great that she went straight to co-op. Or maybe he was looking too much into this. Wouldn’t be the first time.

After a little while, Lance was sure there was something up with Pidge. She was making some stupid mistakes, having to almost completely rely on Lance to get them through. It wouldn’t do to push her though. Pidge was a bit difficult to comfort. Sometimes she would open up almost immediately under questioning, or she would shut down completely. It was difficult to know which one was going to happen. Lance had learned that just keeping quiet and letting her come out with it herself was the best way to go.

Eventually, she paused the game, resting the controller on the floor. She absentmindedly pet Blue, who had wandered onto her knee. Lance placed his own controller down, turning to look at her.

“Matt wants me to meet his girlfriend,” she said.

Lance blinked, of all the things to come out of Pidge’s mouth, he was not expecting that.

“That same one you were talking about… ages ago?” he asked

Pidge nodded. “Yeah.”

Lance let out a long breath, “Wow.”

Matt didn’t really do long-term relationships. Unfortunately, he had a habit of attracting rebounds and slightly crazy girls, so his relationships rarely lasted more than a month. Lance didn’t exactly know how long Matt had been in his current relationship, but if he wanted Pidge to meet her it must be somewhat serious.

“Yeah,” Pidge said, “Bet you weren’t expecting that?”

Lance shook his head. “No, not a chance.”

“My reaction was about that. I had no idea what to think.”

“You agreed though?” Lance asked, leaning back.

Pidge nodded. “Of course, I need to meet the girl who can tolerate my brother for more than a month.”

“Yeah. I mean, yeah,” Lance stuttered out, “Sorry, I’m still trying to get my head around the whole girlfriend thing.”

Pidge nodded again. “I—yes, well—but—” She let out a harsh huff of breath, tightening her fingers a little too much in Blue’s fur making the cat meow in protest.

“Sorry, Blue,” she murmured, then, a bit louder, asked, “What if she doesn’t like me? I mean, Matt really likes her. I want to like her too, but what if we don’t get along.”

“Ah, come on Pidge. I’m sure she’ll love you,” Lance reassured, shaking his head.

Pidge huffed, “Come on, Lance, I’m not like you. Everyone doesn’t instantly like me the second they meet me.”

Lance laughed. “Come on, that’s not true. Remember Keith?”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “Please. Like he didn’t like you. He wouldn’t have hung out with us if he didn’t like you.”

“He tolerated me.”

Pidge snorted. “Neither of you will admit it, but you know you liked each other. It was inevitable you’d become friends.”

Lance scoffed. “If that’s what you think—”

“That’s what I know,” Pidge declared.

“Anyway, this isn’t about me and Keith, it’s about you and Matt’s mystery girlfriend,” Lance redirected, crossing his arms.

“Yeah. You know I’m not the most… sociable person? What if she… hates me?” Pidge’s voice trailed off.

“She’s not going to hate you. I’m assuming you’re going out for coffee or something. That’s nowhere near long enough to hate someone!”

Pidge shot him a flat look.

“She won’t hate you Pidge. She’s dating your brother. You’ll probably be a breath of fresh air,” Lance tried again.

“Lance, I’m serious, what if she causes me and Matt to drift apart?”

“She won’t,” Lance said, resting a hand on her shoulder, “You and Matt are incredibly close. Even if she hates you—which she won’t—you won’t drift apart.”

“You can’t know that,” Pidge protested, “You know Matt doesn’t always think things through.”

“He does when it comes to you,” Lance replied, giving her shoulder a quick squeeze, “Trust me on this, Pidge. Besides, you’ve always got us.”

Pidge let out a harsh breath, before flinging herself forwards. Blue protested loudly as she sprang onto the floor. Pidge wrapped her arms tightly around Lance’s middle. He blinked, before pulling her into a firm hug.

“It’s going to be okay, yeah?” Lance said, “It’s just coffee. If she doesn’t like you straight away, or if you don’t like her straight away, no big deal.”

Pidge huffed, “I guess.”

“You’ll be fine, alright? If she turns out to be a complete bitch, you’ll have to come over and we’ll eat all the ice cream.”

“All the ice cream?” Pidge asked. Lance could hear the smile in her voice.

“All the ice cream,” Lance confirmed.

Pidge laughed, smushing her face slightly further into his shirt. “Thanks, Lance,” she said quietly.

Lance pulled her into a tighter hug. She didn’t protest.

****

Lance went to grab his coffee, before frowning when he realised it was empty. He couldn’t be bothered to go get another one. He could probably manage at least a few minutes before getting up to refill his cup. Letting out a long sigh, Lance glowered at his computer screen. This was so stupid.

“Here,” a familiar voice said, the clunk of a mug being placed on the table catching Lance’s attention.

He looked up, unable to help the smile breaking over his face at the sight of Keith.

“Hey, man, you didn’t have to do that,” Lance said, reaching for the new mug, “Wait a second, this is just a hot chocolate?”

“You’re already looking jittery,” Keith stated, sliding into the seat opposite him, “I didn’t want to add more caffeine to the mix. How many cups of coffee have you had?”

Lance shrugged. “Can’t remember. Not been sleeping too well and I had to get this done.”

Keith blinked. Lance could see his inner conflict on what to talk about first.

“You’re not sleeping?” Ah, so he was going for concerned Keith. Good choice.

“Nah, just my insomnia flaring up, no big deal,” Lance said, wafting his hand.

“Just—Jesus, Lance, are you okay?” Keith asked, frowning.

Okay, that adorableness would not do. It would certainly not help his insomnia.

“Yeah, I’m fine. Once I’ve done this, I’ll try to take a nap. No problem.”

Keith pinched the bridge of his nose, shaking his head. “I—fine, what are you doing?”

“Looking for jobs,” Lance said, “Tweaking my CV. You know, stuff like that.”

Keith frowned. “Haven’t you applied for a job? What happened with that?”

“Haven’t got anything back from them. Probably not going to for a while,” Lance explained, “Probably not going to get it, so I’m just keeping my options open.”

“Lance, come on, you’ll get it.”

Lance rolled his eyes. “Everyone’s saying that. You’re all just saying that!”

Keith sighed, “No, everyone’s just right.”

Lance huffed out a breath, hammering on his keyboard, probably a little harder than he strictly should. Was he shaking? He might be shaking.

“Have you found anything?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Nope. Then again it’s a pretty narrow field. Chances are I’ll never find anything and be working at that restaurant for the rest of my life!”

“Lance, no come on, you’ll find something.”

Lance huffed, rolling his eyes.

“Lance, you’re shaking,” Keith pointed out.

Ah, so he was shaking. It wasn’t exactly making it easy to type.

“Alright, come on, I’m taking you home so you can nap,” Keith declared, moving to stand up, “Although you have so much caffeine in your system I doubt you’ll actually be able to sleep.”

“But I—” Lance started to protest, but a glower from Keith shut him up.

“Come on,” he said, standing up and holding out his hand.

Luckily, their drinks were in to-go cups. If Lance had any brain function left, he probably would have realised it was likely intentional. He didn’t though so it never once crossed his mind.

Shutting his computer down and tucking it back into his bag, Lance picked up his hot chocolate and followed Keith out of the café. Keith had a solid grip on Lance’s bicep, he could feel the warmth of it on his arm. Lance stared at it for a moment before focusing his eyes straight ahead.

He’d gone out to the café in the hopes that the noise and bustle would offer a good distraction. It did… for a little while. Unfortunately it also enabled him to drink far too much coffee. Then, somehow, Keith had turned up to drag him away before he would be forced to stay up for a week from the amount of caffeine in his blood.

“Where’s your keys?” Keith asked.

Lance held out his hot chocolate for Keith to take, before grabbing his keys out of his pockets and slipping them in the door. Wow, his hands really were shaking.

Red and Blue came sprinting up when the door opened. Lance took his chocolate off Keith.

“Hey, girls,” Lance greeted, gently pushing them away from the door.

Keith scooped Red up as she tried to slip past him. She gave a protesting ‘meh,’ wriggling slightly. Keith kicked the door closed before putting her back down. She shot towards the door again, glowering angrily when she realised it was closed.

“No way,” Keith said, “I’m not chasing you around the complex.”

“Awh, you’re ruining her fun,” Lance chuckled.

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’m too busy looking after her dad.”

Lance scoffed, “Come on, I’m not drunk, I can manage!”

“No, but I had to stop you from getting caffeine poisoning,” Keith sighed, shaking his head.

“I—wait.” Lance frowned. “Is that a thing?”

“I don’t know, and I don’t want to find out. So no more coffee. Go take a nap.”

“But I’m so hopped up!” Lance protested, “So wired! No way I’d be able to sleep.”

“Well, go lay down and wait for the crash then.”

“Burgh, fine bossy,” Lance pouted, taking another sip of his hot chocolate.

“Sorry I don’t want you to accidentally kill yourself,” Keith said, shaking his head.

“You’re so boring,” Lance complained, sticking his tongue out.

Keith let out a scoff of breath, smiling.

“Don’t you have something else to do?” Lance asked, crossing his arms.

“I’m making sure you don’t accidentally kill yourself,” Keith said, the corner of his mouth still quirking up.

“Fine,” Lance relented, “I’m going to bed.”

“Right,” Keith replied, “Try not to die. I’ll see you Friday?”

“Yeah, see you Friday,” Lance said, picking up Red so Keith could let himself out.

When Keith left, Lance went back into his bedroom. Throwing on comfortable clothes, he collapsed on the bed. Yeah, he was definitely too wired to sleep so he simply sat there, sipping his hot chocolate.

Keith was right though, it was a good thing Lance laid down and waited for the crash. The second it happened, he was out like a light.

****

Lance groaned as his phone began to chime. What the hell? He was sure he’d put that thing on silent.

“Pidge, what? It’s midnight, I was sleeping,” Lance grumbled.

“ _Wow? You were actually sleeping?_ ” Pidge said.

“Yes,” Lance growled, “So you better have a good reason…”

“ _Oh, I have a fantastic reason,”_ Pidge said brightly, “ _Happy birthday!”_

Lance blinked, before he started to laugh. “Oh man, nice, thanks!” he said, grinning.

“ _Ha! Knew that would make you smile!”_ Pidge sing-songed, “ _Also I wanted to beat Hunk to saying it this year._ ”

“Well you certainly did. Can I go back to sleep now? You know, beach today?”

“ _Yeah, yeah. Just make sure you tell Hunk I beat him.”_

“I will, don’t worry,” Lance said, yawning, “Okay, going to sleep now, see you in a few hours.”

“ _See you,_ ” Pidge replied, hanging up.

Shaking his head, Lance returned his phone to hid bedside table. Luckily, he was able to get right back to sleep.

****

It was no secret that Lance loved the beach. He loved the sun, he loved the sea, he loved the sand, so there was really no question on where they’d be spending his birthday. Although Pidge grumbled relentlessly about the sun, she did have a small smirk on her face for the entire time.

After a few rounds of volley ball with Hunk, Shiro, Keith, and Allura—and that one memorable round where Pidge joined them—Lance decided to go rock-pooling. Hunk and Pidge tagged along, Hunk holding the bucket and Pidge somehow spotting every creature possible, some Lance had never even seen before. On the plus side, none of them got attacked by a crab this time.

A swim in the ocean, another round of volley ball, and a sandcastle building competition later, Lance couldn’t really keep the smile off his face. When the sun started to sink and it started to get a little chilly, Hunk whipped out the portable barbeque and started cooking. Lance pulled on a shirt and collapsed back onto the chair beside Keith.

“Hey, man, thanks for coming today,” Lance said, looking over at Keith, “I know you don’t like the beach that much.”

Keith blinked at him, before smiling lightly. “Nah, it’s alright. I don’t mind it so much anymore, and besides, I’d never hear the end of it if I’d missed your birthday.”

“I would protest, but you’re right.” Lance grinned.

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was smiling. “I can’t believe you remembered I don’t like the beach,” he said quietly.

“Well, yeah, man, it’s only been two years. I’m not a goldfish!”

“Actually, goldfish have pretty good memories. You can teach them how to play basketball,” Pidge interjected, leaning over.

Lance blinked, before shooting her an unamused look. “I was making a point. I don’t care how—wait, did you say you can teach them basketball?”

“Hell yeah!” Pidge said, “It’s really cool. I’ll send you the video when we get back.”

“Oh, nice.”

The two of them fell into silence, before Lance turned his attention back to Keith.

“Sorry,” Lance apologized with a smile, “Goldfish tangent.”

“Don’t worry about it,” Keith said, shaking his head in amusement.

Lance shrugged. “Fish playing basketball!”

“I know,” Keith laughed slightly, “I heard!”

Lance grinned, feeling his heart give a slight thump. It was okay. He was going to be okay.

“Hey, Lance, there’s something—” Keith started, but was cut off.

“Food!” Hunk called.

Keith jumped slightly before getting up and heading to the barbeque. Lance frowned after him. Oh well, if it was important Keith would probably bring it up later.

****

The sun was really starting to dip now. Lance wandered off to take a minute to himself. He stood, looking out over the ocean, over at the sun slowly sinking below horizon. For the first time in a while, Lance was able to relax. Unfortunately, Keith just had to wander over and mess the whole thing up.

“Hey,” Keith said, looking far too attractive lit up by the sunset.

“Hey,” Lance replied, smiling lightly.

“There’s something I need to tell you.”

Lance turned to look at him, frowning as Keith shuffled from foot to foot.

“Okay, what’s up?” Lance asked, tilting his head to one side.

Keith looked down at his hands, picking his nails a little. It was strange, Keith was very rarely nervous, normally charging forwards without a second thought.

“I­—I like you, Lance, in a romantic way,” Keith finally got out, in a rush.

Lance blinked as his entire world crashed down around him, his mind splintering, unable to process this new information. “What?” he managed to get out.

Keith seemed to get more confident, now he’d got his big admission out. “I like you, in a romantic way. I know you don’t like me back. That’s fine. I just, I thought you deserved to know.”

“I—I—” Lance stammered. No, brain was still absent.

“It’s okay,” Keith said, “You don’t have to say anything.”

When Keith began to move away, Lance’s brain finally kicking back into gear.

“Wait,” Lance shouted, holding up a hand, “Just, wait, give me a second.”

Keith turned back, his eyes flicking over Lance’s face.

“I—okay,” Lance said, taking a deep breath, “I’ve been doing some soul-searching, some self-reflection I suppose you could say. I’ve also been talking to Shiro and… I think I’m bi? Or at least, I think I like one guy? I don’t really know, which is why I wasn’t telling anyone. But I suppose if you’re admitting your feelings, I’d better admit mine.”

“Your feelings?” Keith asked, taking a step closer.

“I like you Keith,” Lance confessed, “At least I think I do? I just—I need to think this through some more. I’m not going to ask you to wait for me, because that’s selfish, but just… this isn’t a no? But it isn’t a yes? I’m sorry, this is terrible, forget it.” He scrubbed his face, groaning, “Just, never mind, I shouldn’t dump this on you. I need to work this out myself and—”

Lance was cut off as Keith unexpectedly pulled him into a hug, Lance stiffened a little, before going limp.

“It’s okay,” Keith said, “Take your time.”

“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t apologize. I know it’s… difficult sometimes.”

Lance let out a long breath. “Thank you.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> IDK, I have nothing to say about this


	9. August

August was hot and claggy, broken up with the occasional thunderstorm. So basically the usual, weather-wise at least. What was happening inside Lance’s mind was far from normal. He’d switched his body onto autopilot, going through his ordinary life while his mind whirled with the new information he’d been given. It had been a long time since Lance had received that information, but he still couldn’t wrap his head around it.

Keith _liked_ him, like, in a more than friend way. Lance didn’t know if he had the best, or the worst luck in the world. His crush had confessed to him, at a time when Lance wasn’t all too sure he was actually his crush. It was a mess. Why did everything always have to become a mess?! God it was annoying.

At the very least, Lance was acting reasonably normal. Well, normal enough that people didn’t realise his problem revolved around Keith. They just all thought he wasn’t sleeping—which he wasn’t—they just didn’t know he’d already worked out the cause of his problem. The only one who had any idea was Shiro, and even he didn’t know the full story.

****

“You look like death,” Pidge said as she opened the door.

“Believe me, I know,” Lance sighed.

She stepped back to let Lance in, and he trailed in groaning slightly. He wasn’t even trying to disguise just how tired he was anymore. After all, he wasn’t going anywhere else today.

“Oh man, you look rough!” Hunk exclaimed, walking out of the kitchen.

“I know, Pidge told me,” Lance said, giving out a yawn.

“This is getting bad. Maybe you should go to the doctor?” Hunk suggested, frowning deeply.

“Maybe,” Lance sighed, moving to sit on the sofa, “It’s not the worst it’s been.”

“That’s no reason not to,” Hunk said.

“I know,” Lance said, “I’ll sort something out.”

“Wow, you look rough,” Shay said, stepping in from the kitchen.

Lance smiled weakly. “So I’ve been told.”

“Here,” Hunk said, handing him a blanket, “And don’t tell me you can’t sleep through movies, because I know you can.”

“Depends on the movie.” Lance shrugged, accepting the blanket and snuggling down.

****

Lance’s sleep was honestly getting better. He at least wasn’t surviving purely off coffee anymore. He’d received an email about the job, some enquiries on his work history, and some questions about himself, which was incredibly reassuring as it meant Lance was still in the running. Lance’s life was turning around, but he wasn’t going to get his hopes up just yet.

Blue and Red’s annual vaccinations were due, so Lance had the absolute joy of wrestling the two of them into cat carriers. One long round trip and a few fresh scratches to his hands and his girls were protected for another year and perfectly healthy. Red wasn’t speaking to him at first, though she got over it by the afternoon.

Things were looking up. Lance was actually thinking he’d figured himself out. He had this. He could do this. He could bring this all together!

****

“Ah man, I don’t think I’ve been here in ages!” Hunk said, swinging his bag out and almost hitting Lance.

“I came here on my date with Allura,” Lance said, tucking his hands in his pockets, “But it’s been a while.”

“Oh, we can go somewhere else if you want?” Hunk said, face shifting into a concerned frown.

Lance rolled his eyes. “No, it’s fine. I’m long over it.”

The two of them settled down beside the huge tree. It was hot as all hell out, but the tree offered some good shade. Lance had just wanted to get outside, so when Hunk had offered a picnic for his lunch break, Lance was all over it.

Lance leant back against the tree, closing his eyes and letting out a long breath.

“Right,” Hunk said, “I’ve got a massive selection for you.”

Lance glanced over at what Hunk had set out and barked out a laugh. “Holy crow, Hunk! We can’t possibly eat that much!”

Hunk shrugged. “Eh, I fancied making some variety. We don’t have to eat it all.”

“Well, I can’t really protest. It all looks so good!”

“Dig in!” Hunk said brightly.

“I was planning on it!” Lance replied.

Even though there was so much food, Lance couldn’t help but try to eat it all. It just tasted too good.

“Well, I was going to say I’ve tried some new stuff and what did you think… but I think I have my answer,” Hunk laughed.

Lance turned to look at him, mouth full of food with a questioning hum. Hunk laughed louder.

****

Lance still had some time after they’d finished the food, so he rested back on his hands and let out a long breath. It was so calm, so relaxing. They were just off the path enough that they didn’t have to listen to the screaming children, but close enough that they weren’t being constantly attacked by nettles.

Letting out a long breath, Lance looked up at the sun streaming through the leaves. He kept his eyes up there and began to speak, if he looked at Hunk he would chicken out.

“Hunk,” Lance said, “I’m bi.”

There was a long pause, Lance began to fidget. He couldn’t look.

“What?” Hunk asked, not harshly, just curious.

“I’m bi. I like guys as well as girls,” Lance explained, “I’ve been doing some self-reflecting and I’ve realised I like boys. Well, more specifically, I like Keith.”

There was another long pause and Lance couldn’t take it anymore, he looked over at Hunk. Hunk was staring right at him, tilting his head thoughtfully until, all of a sudden, he reached out, dragging Lance into a tight hug.

“Is this what’s been bothering you?” Hunk asked, squishing him close.

“Yeah, pretty much,” Lance said, “It’s just a bit… difficult you know?”

“I can imagine. You know you could’ve come talk to me, man.”

Lance let out a harsh breath, squishing his cheek against Hunk’s chest. “I needed to…” Lance trailed off, “I don’t…”

“It’s okay, I don’t need an explanation,” Hunk said quietly, “I just want you to know you can talk to me.”

Lance nodded, before tilting his head up slightly. “Keith confessed you know,” he said quietly, “On my birthday.”

“Wow… that’s—”

“Confusing as all hell,” Lance finished, with a sigh, “I couldn’t give him a straight answer.”

“Well, I’d assume you wouldn’t give him a _straight_ answer,” Hunk joked.

Lance punched him gently in the shoulder, laughing. “Come on, man! I’m being serious!”

“I know.” Hunk grinned. “But I mean, what do you think?”

“What do I think?” Lance asked with a frown.

“About dating Keith?” Hunk said, “I mean, you both like each other!”

“Yeah, but,” Lance sighed, “I’m still not too sure I’m ready to jump into a relationship though?”

“I don’t know,” Hunk said, “I mean, you’ve known Keith practically forever. You already have a good relationship!”

“I mean, yeah,” Lance muttered, “But what if I don’t want to screw it up? Ruin our friendship? Realise I didn’t really like him that way?”

“Woah, woah, woah,” Hunk said, “Deep breaths, it’s okay.”

“Sorry, I—,” Lance sighed, “I’ve had a lot of time to think about this.”

“Maybe you’re overthinking?”

“Overthinking,” Lance parroted quietly.

“I know it’s important for you to think this through. I mean the whole bi thing. But you do tend to overthink with your relationships? I mean, how many relationships have you lost the chance on because of your overthinking?”

Lance faltered, before blinking and shaking his head. “Too many,” he said, before groaning, “Too many.”

“Exactly,” Hunk said, “So, what do you want?”

…

What did he want?

****

“Ah man,” Lance sighed, relaxing back, “I needed this.”

“I feel that,” Allura agreed, her eyes slipping closed, “I was so glad when you suggested it.”

The two of them had decided to take a trip to the spa, Allura insisting it was her treat and a belated birthday present for Lance. There was only so many times Lance could protest that she’d already gotten him a gift. Allura could be very persuasive though, especially as treatments could get expensive and she pretty much offered him all of them.

The two of them were currently relaxing back in the jacuzzi—the indoor one as outside was just too damn hot. Allura had point-blank refused to use the sauna; Lance had lasted about two minutes. After their back massages, they were just waiting until it was time for them to go to lunch before getting their mani-pedis. Lance couldn’t wait, his nails were a bit of a mess from his lack of care.

“I pity the poor person who has to work on my cuticles,” Lance sighed, looking at his nails.

“I’ve seen worse,” Allura said, peering over at his hands, “At least you’re not biting your nails.”

Lance pulled a face, dropping his hand back into the water. “I guess you’re right.”

“I can’t believe you let your nails get messy,” Allura sighed, shaking her head.

Lance snorted, “I know, it’s so tragic isn’t it.”

The two of them fell into a comfortable silence, letting all the tension leave their muscles.

“Hey, Allura?” Lance said quietly, “I need some advice?”

“Shoot,” Allura said, kicking him lightly with her foot.

“Okay, say I wanted to ask someone out, but we’re friends and I didn’t want to ruin our friendship?” Lance began.

“You asked me out,” Allura stated.

“I—it’s different?” Lance replied.

“How?” Allura asked, tilting her head to one side.

“Ahhh. Because it’s Keith?”

“Oh…” Allura said, “Oh!”

“Yeah…” Lance trailed off awkwardly.

“I didn’t know you…”

“Neither did I. I’ve just been working some stuff out.”

“Ahh… well,” Allura steered the conversation around, “So, you like Keith?”

Lance nodded. “And he likes me back.”

“He likes…” Allura frowned. “Well, what are you so worried about?”

“What if I screw this up somehow?”

Allura blinked, before her expression broke out in realisation. “Oh, you’re overthinking again!”

“Wait! What?” Lance said, frowning, “Have you been talking to Hunk?”

“No?” Allura grinned. “But I’m assuming he said the same thing?”

Lance scoffed, looking away. “No.”

Allura flung an arm around his shoulders and pulling him into a hug, knocking their heads together. “He’s right you know.”

“Shut up,” Lance groaned.

“You do overthink things sometimes!”

“I’m sure Pidge would be happy to protest that point!”

“Come on!”

“No!”

Allura threw her head back and laughed, poking him in the cheek. “Lance, come on,” she said, “Now I think about it, you and Keith would make a good couple.”

“Allura, we fight all the time.”

Allura scoffed, “No you don’t! You haven’t had a proper argument… well pretty much ever!”

“Really?”

“They weren’t even really arguments! They were disagreements! Besides, you get on much better now.”

“I suppose,” Lance muttered.

“You suppose?” Allura said, rolling her eyes, “Lance, you’re being ridiculous.”

Lance pouted. “No I’m not.”

“Look, okay,” Allura said, “Why don’t you try going on a date? No strings attached, no expectations, just a date. Like what we did.”

Lance blinked, taking a minute for his brain to reboot, then work through what Allura had just said.

“Oh… oh, Allura, that’s brilliant! You’re brilliant!”

“I know.” Allura smirked. “Come on, it’s time for lunch.”

“Oh good, I’m pruning,” Lance replied, standing up, “Thank you.”

Allura wafted her hand around. “Happy to help.”

****

“You’re not falling asleep are you?” Allura asked.

Lance groaned, opening his eyes a little. “No.”

“Yes, you are!” Allura laughed quietly, “Didn’t you get enough during your massage?”

“I didn’t sleep during my massage!” Lance protested softly.

“You were snoring,” Allura said flatly.

“I don’t snore!”

Allura hissed through her teeth. “I’m afraid you do.”

“Noooooo,” Lance drew out the word, shaking his head.

“You wouldn’t know, you’re asleep.”

“I don’t snore!” Lance pouted.

The nail tech was smirking to herself, clearly trying to fight back laughter. Lance ignored her, flexing his toes in the foot bath.

“Fine, remain in denial,” Allura said, “Don’t come crying to me when your partner can’t sleep because of your loud snoring.”

Lance stuck his tongue out, huffing a little as Allura only laughed.

****

“Hey, buddy!” Lance said brightly, wrapping his arms around Cosmo’s neck as the dog bounded up happily to him.

“Hey,” Keith said, leaning against the wall, “Shiro’s out.”

“I know,” Lance replied, “I came to speak to you.”

“Oh, okay,” Keith said, looking a little suspicious, “Come on in then.”

Lance followed Keith back into the living room, Cosmo trotting after him, trying to weave between Lance’s legs.

“Easy buddy,” Lance laughed, “I need to walk.”

“He missed you,” Keith commented, glancing at Lance over his shoulder.

“Well, I missed him too.” Lance grinned.

The two of them kicked back on the sofa, Cosmo splaying himself over Lance’s lap.

“So?” Keith asked, leaning on his hand.

“Okay, I think we should go on a date,” Lance suggested, “Just an easy, no pressure date to see if we’re compatible you know?”

“A date?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Yeah,” Lance replied, “Allura suggested we give it a shot… after Hunk said I was thinking too hard. I think they were both right?”

“You do tend to think too hard about stuff,” Keith agreed.

Lance huffed, “Pidge would argue with you about that.”

“No,” Keith said, laughing and shaking his head, “No she wouldn’t.”

“She would! She’s always accusing me of never thinking anything through!”

Keith rolled his eyes. “I’m not saying you don’t do stupid crap, but you do sometimes overthink things.”

“ _I_ do stupid crap!” Lance exclaimed, “That coming from you!”

“This isn’t about me,” Keith replied, rolling his eyes.

Lance scoffed.

 Keith sighed. “Is this how you ask everyone out?” he said, raising a dark eyebrow.

Lance faltered, making a slightly strangled sound. Oh yeah, that’s why he was here. Okay, maybe insulting the guy he was trying to ask out wasn’t the best idea.

“Ah… sorry,” Lance said, looking down at his hands.

A small part of him wanted to pick his nails, but they still looked really good from his manicure. Before he could come to a decision on what to do, Keith’s hand reached out and rested over Lance’s. He gave them a quick squeeze.

Lance looked up, meeting Keith’s eyes. There was a small smile curling his mouth, his eyes looking impossibly soft.

“I would like to go on a date with you,” Keith said, “If that’s still okay?”

Lance pouted. “I don’t know. You were being kind of mean.”

He jerked his head to the one side, making a high-pitched huffing sound. Keith tossed his head back and laughed. Lance couldn’t help the small smile quirking up the corner of his mouth.

“Come here,” Keith said, grabbing Lance’s wrist.

Lance was dragged forwards, pulled into a tight hug. He laughed as his face was smushed against Keith’s firm chest—like damn, he had some muscle. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, shifting so he wasn’t so uncomfortably pressed against Keith’s chest. It was… nice.

“I suppose I could give you a chance,” Lance said, resting his chin on Keith’s shoulder.

Keith pinched his side, causing Lance to laugh and yelp, trying to wriggle away.

“You asked me out first jackass!” Keith said.

“I might have,” Lance replied, “Maybe, I don’t know.”

Keith huffed, hauling Lance back into the hug and pressing their cheeks together.

“Yeah, a date,” Lance said, smiling, “Sounds good. Friday?”

“Ah… this Friday?” Keith asked.

“Let me guess, you can’t?”

“I can do next Friday?”

“Next Friday it is.”

Lance leant more heavily against Keith, letting out a long breath. It was like a huge weight had been lifted off his chest. Oh man, that felt so much better.


	10. September

Lance was nervous, although he was perfectly sure it was completely justified. He was going on a date. Moreover, he was going on a date with _Keith._  He looked nice, but not too nice, they were only going to a café after all. Oh god, was Lance dressed up too nicely? What was he going to do? This was supposed to be causal? This was supposed to not be a serious thing! What if Keith thought he was being too serious about this and got scared and oh god was that his phone ringing. Was he late!?

He glanced over at his phone, which read: **Hunk.** Lance grabbed it, scrambling a little with it as he almost dropped it before answering.

“Hunk, my man, what’s up?” Lance greeted.

“ _Well_ ,” Hunk dragged out the word, “ _I know you’re going on a date with Keith and I assumed you’d be freaking out right about now! So, you’re not overdressed, no pressure, this is going to go great! Go get ‘em, tiger!_ ”

Lance snorted, “Thanks, buddy.”

“ _Now go! Or you’re going to be late!_ ”

“Alright!”

“ _And come over after! I want to know how it goes!_ ”

“Alright!”

“ _Go!_ ”

“Later.”

Lance hung up, before taking a deep breath. Alright, no problem, he could do this.

****

Keith was already there, leaning against the wall beside the door. Lance took a deep breath. _He could do this_.

“Hey!” Lance said brightly, holding up his hand and grinning.

Keith turned, a smile spreading over his face. “Hey, I was wondering if you’d forgotten.”

“I got caught up with some stuff,” Lance replied, smiling awkwardly.

“It’s okay,” Keith said, the corner of his mouth twitching up.

“Come on then,” Lance said, turning to walk into the café.

He forgot it was a pull door, Keith laughed, Lance almost smacked his face into the door, and embarrassment was had.

“I’m buying,” Keith said, sliding in front of Lance, “You having your usual?”

“Oh, um, yeah,” Lance replied.

“Go find us a table then,” Keith said, shooing him off.

“Oh, sure.”

He shuffled off, quickly grabbing the window sofa seat. Luckily the café wasn’t particularly full—if this went down in flames, there wouldn’t be many people to see his embarrassment. Groaning, Lance buried his face in his hands. Goddamnit, he’s not even properly into the date yet and he’s already making an ass of himself.

Slumping back against the chair, Lance looked out of the window. He was nervous. Stupid first-date jitters.

Keith rested Lance’s mug in front of him. “Here.”

“Thanks.” Lance smiled.

“You doing alright?” Keith asked, sliding into the seat opposite him, “Sleeping better?”

“That’s what you want to ask?” Lance said, “Really?”

Keith pouted. “I want to know.”

“I’m doing better,” Lance replied, “I’m alright.”

Keith nodded, tapping his fingers on his mug slightly, eyes flicking to the window then back to Lance. Okay, Keith was nervous too, that… actually made Lance a little better. Alright, he could do this.

****

After they got over their initial awkwardness, it was surprisingly easy. Keith had always been reasonably easy to talk to, and that carried right through their date. Lance was really enjoying himself, even when Keith almost made him snort his coffee out his nose. That hurt. Keith laughed.

The two left the café together, walking comfortably side by side. Keith had a small smile on his face, in fact he’d had a small smile on his face throughout the whole thing pretty much. Lance really hoped that meant he was enjoying himself.

“Ah man,” Lance said, turning to look at the building beside them, “Isn’t this a blast from the past?”

The two of them stood in front of the club they used to frequent when they were in university—it was the middle of the afternoon so it wasn’t open yet. Lance had many memories from that place, both good and bad. He also had some memories that didn’t quite account for the whole night, especially in those first few weeks.

“Geez,” Keith said, eyes scanning over the building, “It’s looking a bit worn down.”

“It is kinda old,” Lance laughed softly, “We should go back in sometime.”

Keith snorted, “You’re kidding right? Even when we were younger this place was a bit crap unless you were hammered.”

“Yeah,” Lance sighed, “I have a lot of memories of going, then waking up the next morning with nothing in between.”

“I know.” Keith rolled his eyes.

Lance groaned, “You’re not still salty over that are you?”

“I’m not salty,” Keith huffed, looking away.

“Come on!” Lance protested, “I was completely slaughtered! Can’t really blame me for not remembering.”

“I mean, who’s fault is it you got so drunk?” Keith said, tilting his head to one side.

“Technically, Pidge’s,” Lance replied.

Keith rolled his eyes, huffing out a laugh. “Come on,” he said, beginning to wander off, “I’m not going into an old club again.”

“Alright, old man,” Lance said, “If you’re going to be a Shiro about it.”

That earned him a punch in the arm. Lance simply laughed.

****

Keith was a gentleman, walking Lance all the way to his door. In fact, Keith seemed to have gone out of his way to spoil Lance a little. It made a nice change—usually it was Lance spoiling his dates. Well, next time, Lance would just have to spoil him. Wait. Next time. Lance might be getting a little ahead of himself there.

“That was really nice,” Lance said, turning to smile at Keith.

“Yeah, it was,” Keith replied. Tilting his head back a little, he pressed a kiss to Lance’s cheek.

Reaching out, Lance rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder, the other cupping his cheek. “Can I kiss you?” he asked quietly, leaning towards Keith slightly.

Keith nodded and Lance pressed their lips together.

It wasn’t like an explosion of fireworks. There wasn’t an instant spark of fiery passion between them. In Lance’s experience that usually wasn’t the case anyway. Unlike with Allura though, there was more than just feelings that could possibly develop into more. It was a warmth running through him, a burn that had the chance of turning into a wildfire.

The two of them separated, Keith humming lightly.

“Good?” Lance asked, pressing their foreheads together.

Keith hummed, “Yeah, you?”

“Yes,” Lance replied, “We thinking second date?”

Keith nodded. “Yeah, I—um—I’ll text you later, okay?”

“Okay,” Lance said.

Keith turned and walked back down the hallway and Lance grinned to himself. He managed to get into his flat before the urge to squeal became too much to resist. Grabbing his phone out of his pocked, Lance hurriedly dialled Hunk, practically bouncing on the balls of his feet. This might actually go well.

****

Both Keith and Lance weren’t the busiest people, but unfortunately their schedules just didn’t want to work out so it took a little while to get a second date. When they finally did though, Lance was thrilled when it went just as well as the first one. He was even more excited when he realised his attraction to Keith hadn’t lessened in any way. Somehow, through some miracle, their friends didn’t bother them about their relationship, even when they all met up for a movie night. Even Hunk only slightly bothered Lance, not even pushing him for details.

After their… third(?) sort-of-date—they’d incidentally met at the park a couple of days after their second date and gone to get coffee—they agreed to make it official. They were boyfriends. Lance may still have been a little nervous, but hell if he wasn’t happy.

Lance was cooking dinner one evening when his phone rang. He frowned. It was Veronica; she didn’t call all that often.

“Hey, Ronnie, what’s up?” Lance asked, balancing his phone between his shoulder and ear.

“ _Can I not just call to check on my brother?”_ she replied.

“Well you never have before…” Lance said, trailing off.

“ _I have…_ ” Veronica protested, “ _I can’t think of a time right now, but I have!_ ”

“Sure. So, what’s up?”

“ _Urgh,_ ” she sighed, “ _Don’t worry about it, I’m just frustrated and needed to talk to someone._ ”

“But not about what you’re upset about?”

“ _Nope._ ”

“Alright then.”

“ _So, what’s new going on with you?_ ”

“Well… ah.”

“ _OMG, you hesitated! Something happened!”_

“Did you just say OMG out loud? And what makes you think something’s happening?”

“ _You hesitated! Normally I can’t shut you up about your life!”_

“Hey!”

“ _I don’t mean that in a bad way!_ ” Veronica laughed.

“How can I take it in a good way!?”

“ _Come on! Just tell me what’s up!”_

Lance sighed, shaking his head. It’s not like he was worried about how Veronica would react to him dating Keith, she did after all have her own girlfriend (who Lance had yet to meet, he needed to remedy that). It was just, his relationship with Keith was really new. He didn’t need Veronica getting all up in his business.

“ _Ohhhhh, you’re thinking intensely about something! It must be something big!”_

“No, I—” Lance let out an irritated huff, “Fine, but promise you won’t freak out and immediately stop when I say?”

“ _Wow… Um, should I be worried?”_

“No, just, promise?”

“ _Okay, I promise._ ”

“I’m dating Keith,” Lance said quickly.

The was a pause. Lance heard the phone crackle as Veronica let out a harsh breath. Lance began to gnaw on his lip.

“Ronnie?” Lance asked softly.

“ _Sorry, I was just,”_ she said thoughtfully, “ _I was a little surprised_.”

“Yeah,” Lance muttered, “Imagine how I feel.”

“ _So, this is your friend Keith, right_?”

“How many other Keith’s do you know?”

“ _I was just double checking!_ ” Veronica protested, before humming, “ _But, now I think about it, that makes a lot of sense._ ”

“What?”

“ _Like, you and Keith, I think you’d make a great couple… make a great couple…_ ”

“Yeah, Allura said the same thing.”

“ _Well then, listen to our wisdom!_ ”

Lance burst into laughter, scrambling as he almost dropped his phone. He could hear Veronica protesting vehemently, he just couldn’t stop laughing.

“Wisdom!” he managed to choke out, “Wow, okay, you think that?”

“ _Shut up, asshole_!”

Lance continued to laugh, it took probably much longer than it should for him to calm down.

“ _Are you done?_ ”

“Yeah, just don’t say anything that funny again, my ribs hurt,” Lance replied, leaning up against the counter.

“ _Ha ha… ass,”_ Veronica huffed a slight laugh out.

“I mean, we’ve only gone on two dates, so don’t get too excited yet.”

“ _Trust your big sister._ ”

“Last time I did that, we got stuck in that corn maze for three hours.”

“ _That was not my fault, that was all on Marco._ ”

Lance made a doubtful noise.

“ _But anyway,_ ” Veronica continued, “ _I, um, I wanted to get Acxa to meet some of my family members, but she’s really nervous about it and I was wondering if we could maybe come over and hang out sometime… We could make it a double date!_ ”

“Woah, okay, slow down,” Lance said, “I think you’re jumping ahead a little here. Our relationship has literally just started. I don’t think we’re ready for meeting family.”

Veronica scoffed, “ _Please, I’ve met Keith before. Come on, please, I want to make her comfortable and it’s really difficult getting her to meet people!”_

“Alright, alright, I will talk to Keith,” Lance relented, “I can’t promise anything though.”

“ _Thank you! I just, I want her to meet everyone and it’s not that easy.”_

“Yeah, don’t worry about it,” Lance sighed, “I’ll ask.”

“ _Great, no rush. We won’t be able to visit for a little while._ ”

“Sure.”

****

“Alright guys, I’m ordering pizza, what do you all want?” Shiro shouted from the kitchen.

Everyone began shouting their orders, all at once, on top of each other. There was no chance Shiro heard them all.

“Okay, anyone getting anything that’s not their usual?” Shiro tried again.

Silence.

“I don’t know what I was expecting,” Shiro sighed.

Cosmo trotted across the room, laying over Lance and Hunk’s feet, splaying himself contentedly on the floor. Lance paid him no mind, easily keeping his conversation with Hunk. That all changed when Keith wandered over.

It was still a little awkward between the two of them on occasion, but for the most part they’d fallen into something more comfortable. They’d managed to squeeze in a fourth date around their schedules and it was going well. Right at this moment though, Lance wasn’t all too sure how to act. This was their first time going to movie night since they’d started dating. So, Lance decided to just go along with what Keith wanted to do. After all, there was very little Keith could do to make Lance uncomfortable.

Lance just kept chatting to Hunk, glancing over and smiling at Keith for a moment. Keith seemed to take this as an invitation, settling himself on Lance’s other side. He leant slightly against Lance’s shoulder, slipping into the conversation he and Hunk were having. Shay wandered over a second later, scooting Cosmo over so she could sit on the floor and lean against Hunk’s legs. It was comfortable. Surprisingly so.

As the movie started and dragged on, after the pizzas had arrived, Keith seemed to lean more heavily on Lance. He seemed perfectly happy where he was, leaning against Lance’s shoulder. Lance felt a little awkward, so he did what he normally did: resorted to cheesy flirting. And there was only one thing he could possibly do in this situation.

Giving the biggest fake yawn he could, Lance reached over, curling his arm around Keith’s shoulders. Keith stared up at him with complete disbelief. Lance felt his stomach sink a little, alright maybe that wasn’t such a good idea. He began to move his arm, but Keith quickly reached up and grabbed his hand, keeping his arm right where it was. Leaning deeper into Lance’s side, Keith tilted his head up to whisper in his ear.

“I can’t believe you’d pull that move on me. It’s so corny.”

“Is that a problem?” Lance whispered back, “Because I am literally made of cheese and could not possibly live without corn.”

Keith snorted quietly, pressing his nose against Lance’s cheek. “You know what, I think I can survive.”

Keith spent the rest of the movie night tucked against Lance’s side, Lance’s arm over his shoulders.

****

Their fifth date was at Lance’s, so he’d decided to show off his cooking a little, since he didn’t get all that much of a chance to do it. Keith had arrived a little earlier than he planned, but had comfortable settled himself on the kitchen counter to watch Lance. They kept up easy conversation. It was relaxed. It was nice.

“That was good,” Keith said after they’d finished eating and leaned back, “Not as good as Hunk’s.”

Lance rested his hand on his chest, gasping dramatically. “You wound me!”

Lance collected up the dishes, protesting as Keith quickly swept them out of his hands and made his way to the kitchen.

“Hey no, you’re the guest!” Lance protested following after him.

“Yeah, but you cooked,” Keith replied.

“You don’t even know where all my washing-up stuff is!”

“I’m sure I can work it out. You’re not the kind of person to hide stuff away.”

Lance pouted as Keith brushed him off and easily found all of Lance’s cleaning supplies, starting to wash up without even letting Lance get a look in. Keith just kept shooting Lance amused looks, occasionally poking him in the cheek with a soapy finger.

Afterwards, the two of them collapsed onto the sofa, Lance first with Keith tucking himself against Lance’s side. Lance rested his head against Keith’s head, humming happily. Keith pinched his side lightly, looking up to smirk at Lance.

“Come here,” Keith said, cupping Lance’s cheek.

Leaning down, Lance pressed their lips together. Keith hand moved to cup the back of Lance’s head, the other settling on his chest. Running his tongue across Keith’s bottom lip, Lance hummed as Keith allowed him to deepen the kiss.

Lance began to get nervous as the kiss got deeper, the make-out session getting hotter and heavier. Keith ground his hips down and Lance felt himself unintentionally freeze up. Keith noticed, pulling away and making Lance whine a little.

“What’s wrong?” Keith asked.

“Nothing, I’m fine.”

Now, Keith wasn’t the most observant person in the world—he could be really obtuse sometimes—however, if he got something in his head, he could be stubborn as balls. Unfortunately he had picked up on Lance’s nerves and now, like a dog with a bone, he would not let it go.

“Don’t give me that,” Keith sighed, “You’re all tense, tell me if you’re not feeling good, or you know, you don’t want to.”

“No, no, no, it’s not that,” Lance insisted, “I’m just nervous okay. You know, not having been with a guy…”

Realisation flickered over Keith’s face, Lance was grateful, he didn’t really have much more to say.

“Well, we don’t have too…”

“But I… ah…”

“We don’t have to go all the way?”

Lance took a deep steadying breath, before nodding. “Yeah, I’m, sorry…”

“Don’t worry about it.” Keith smiled. “It’s adorable really.”

“Nope, mood killed.”

“Lance.”

“You can’t just _say_ that.”

“Lance.”

“I’m not adorable.”

“You are,” Keith laughed.

“I’m not!”

“You really are.” Keith smirked, before moving to press their lips together.

****

By the end of the night Lance had learned two things: the sounds and face Keith made when he came were fantastic and, dressed in one of Lance’s oversized t-shirts and boxers, Keith was freaking adorable. Even better when he was sleep-ruffled in the morning.

 


	11. October

“Double date? With Veronica and her girlfriend?” Keith frowned, shuffling closer.

The two of them were laid in bed together, Lance was laid out on his back, arm around Keith who was pressed up against his bare chest.

“Yeah, I know. She wants me to meet her girlfriend and suggested we go together. No worries if you don’t, I can go on my own,” Lance said, rubbing up and down Keith’s back.

“No, I—it’s fine,” Keith said, turning to press a kiss to Lance’s collarbone, “I like Veronica, and someone has to stop you scaring her girlfriend off.”

“Hey!” Lance objected, shuffling away indignantly.

Keith grinned, hauling Lance back and rolling on top of him to pin him to the bed. He pressed kisses all over Lance’s face, making him giggle.

“Besides, I’m curious to meet Veronica’s girlfriend,” Keith continued, laying his head on Lance’s chest, “She might be interesting.”

“I mean she’s dating my sister, so of course she will be.”

Keith huffed, pressing a kiss to the underside of Lance’s jaw.

Keith’s phone chimed from the bedside table and, with a groan, Keith reached over to grab it.

“Urgh,” he grunted, “Cosmo’s getting antsy and Shiro apparently can’t deal with him. I need to go.”

“Really?” Lance sighed, “He can’t like, take him out for a walk or something?”

“Apparently not,” Keith replied, rolling out of bed and stretching, “Mind if I borrow some of your stuff?”

“No problem. Can’t believe he can’t manage that.”

“I think he’s probably worried if he does it once I’ll take advantage.”

“Which you would of course never do?”

“Course not,” Keith said, turning to smile at Lance.

Lance sat up, swinging his legs so his feet were resting on the floor. Keith wandered over, pressing their lips together before pushing Lance back on the bed.

“Don’t worry, I’ll see myself out,” he said, pecking Lance lightly on the cheek.

“See you, at some point?” Lance asked.

“Yeah, some point,” Keith laughed softly.

****

Lance’s leg was bouncing up and down under the table. He had to fight the urge to chew his lip into oblivion. Keith reached over, resting his hand on top of Lance’s before giving it a quick squeeze. Flipping his hand over, Lance linked their fingers together. Keith smiled at him, but it was slightly strained. Keith was better at hiding his nerves than Lance was, but Lance had a lot of experience picking up on Keith’s emotions.

“Lance!” Veronica’s voice called from across the restaurant.

Glancing over, Lance raised his hand in greeting. Veronica wove between the tables, another nervous-looking woman following behind her. Keith’s eyes widened as he noticed the woman following behind Veronica.

“Acxa?” Keith asked.

“Keith?” Acxa said.

There was a pause, Lance glanced between the two of them.

“Hi,” Keith said.

“Long time no see,” Acxa replied.

“You know each other?” Lance asked, frowning.

“Oh yeah,” Keith said, turning to Lance, “We met a couple years ago. It’s a long story.”

Keith shot Lance a look that screamed ‘later.’ Lance blinked. Keith hadn’t really said anything about the two years he’d spent away. Would this actually cause Keith to open up about it? Probably not, but Lance could always hope.

“Oh, well that makes things a little easier,” Veronica said, snapping Lance out of his surprised stupor.

“Yeah,” Lance added, “What a small world.”

It was fine really, if a little awkward. Acxa was very like Keith. She was quiet and a little brooding, although that likely came more from awkwardness. She didn’t speak all that much but it was fine; Lance and Veronica talked more than enough for them. It was also an incredible relief that Veronica didn’t grill Keith all too much. Probably so Lance wouldn’t grill Acxa, which he didn’t no matter how curious he got.

Keith and Acxa wandered off to give Lance and Veronica some time to say goodbye before they parted ways.

“Sorry I couldn’t stay for longer,” Veronica said, “It’s such a pain but, life you know.”

“Yeah, it’s a pain,” Lance agreed, pulling her into a hug.

“Thanks for doing this,” she said, turning to glance over at Keith and Acxa, “I hope this will encourage her to meet everyone else.”

“Don’t worry about it.” Lance grinned. “I’m sure she’ll come around. She seems nice?”

“She can be a bit nervous at first,” Veronica sighed, “Once she’s warmed up though, she’s great. Tell Keith thank you from me too.”

“Yeah, will do.”

“You ready to go?” Veronica called out. Acxa startled, before nodding.

“Hopefully see you for longer soon?” Lance asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Yeah, although next time it will probably be Christmas.”

“Gah, Christmas? Man, guess that is close,” Lance laughed, scratching the back of his neck.

“Oh yeah,” she said, “It really sneaks up on you.”

“See you around Christmas I guess.” He shrugged, linking Keith’s and his fingers as Keith reached out.

“Christmas.” Veronica nodded, before her and Acxa turned to wander off. “See you later, loser.”

“Very creative,” Lance shouted after her as Keith tugged him away.

“That was nice,” Keith said quietly as they walked away, “I’m glad to see Acxa again. I was wondering what had happened to her.”

“Yeah, how do you know her?” Lance asked, squeezing Keith’s hand.

Keith let out a long breath, looking out over the buildings on the other side of the road. “Look, Lance, I got caught up in some really bad stuff while I was away. Acxa was there too. We and a couple of the others decided to get out. I lost track of her a little while ago. I’m glad she made something of herself.”

Well, while it was more than he knew previously, it wasn’t really masses of information.

Keith grabbed Lance’s other hand, tugging him around to look right at Keith.

“Look, I don’t want to talk about what happened,” Keith said, “Please, trust me, you don’t want to know.”

“But I do though,” Lance sighed softly, “But if you don’t want to tell me it’s fine.”

“Look, if I ever want to talk, I will? Just, let it go, okay?”

“It’s fine, I just—” Lance hesitated. “I want to know what happened to you.”

Keith blinked, before leaning up to press a kiss to Lance’s cheek. “Not now,” he said, “Alright? I don’t want to think about what happened. I want to just focus on us here and now.”

“Okay,” Lance said quietly.

“Come on. Let’s head back to your place.”

Lance nodded, letting Keith tug him along.

****

“Um,” Pidge started as she stepped into Hunk’s flat, “Is he okay?”

“Yeah,” Hunk replied, “He’s just having a breakdown.”

Lance wailed, face-down on the carpet where he’d collapsed almost an hour earlier.

“Oh, okay,” Pidge said.

Lance heard footsteps, before he felt a sharp poke to his shoulder.

“You’re taking up valuable floor space,” Pidge stated.

“‘s not valuable,” Lance countered.

“Come on,” Pidge said, “Get up, tell us what’s wrong.”

Lance rolled over onto his back, staring up at Pidge. “I don’t know what to do for Keith’s birthday,” he said, staring dolefully at her.

“Really?” Pidge sighed, “That’s it?”

“That’s it?! That’s it?!” Lance squeaked, “This is the first birthday with the two of us together and it’s all on me! I need to blow him out of the water!”

“Um.” Pidge looked at Hunk, who shrugged.

“You asked,” Hunk said.

“Don’t tell him ‘Keith will like whatever you get him,’” Shay said, wandering out from the bedroom fiddling with her earring.

“But he—” Pidge started.

“Shush!” Hunk hissed, flapping his hands.

“Look,” Lance declared, sitting up, “I want to make it really special for him, okay? I know he’s not really that bothered, but I want to do this for him.” He fell back onto the floor, staring at the ceiling.

“I think it’s sweet!” Hunk said.

“It is,” Shay added, “But you just need to relax, and something will come to you!”

“I mean, you do know Keith the best,” Hunk said.

“Except maybe Shiro,” Pidge added.

“Right,” Lance said, taking a deep breath, “I just need to stop freaking out and actually think.”

“Exactly,” Shay said, smiling.

Alright, sit down and actually think. Shouldn’t be too hard.

“Hey,” Pidge said, holding up a controller, “We playing or not?”

Okay, sit down and actually think later. Even better.

****

Okay, Lance had this. This was a good idea and Keith was going to love it. If he just kept telling himself that it might come true. It was early, but Lance had hardly slept he so was wired. Pulling up in front of Shiro and Keith’s, he whipped out his phone.

 **Lance:** Here

He waited, and waited, and waited. The icon clicked over to read, then three dots.

 **Keith:** One sec

Lance drummed his hands on the steering wheel as he waited, almost bouncing up and down in his seat.

Keith stumbled out of the house not too long later, fighting with Cosmo to get him shut in the house. He looked adorably rumpled, a cup of coffee in his hand.

“Hey,” Lance greeted, smiling as Keith opened the door.

Keith grunted, sliding into the passenger seat and taking a sip from his cup. “Why, have you made me get up this early?” he griped, “On my birthday of all things!”

Lance felt his smile falter slightly. No, it was okay, Keith was just grouchy from being woken up.

“Because we have quite a drive and we want to get there early!” Lance said brightly.

Keith sighed, but leant back comfortably in the seat.

“You can nap in the car if you want,” Lance suggested, pulling up the directions in his phone and setting off, “I don’t mind.”

 Keith let out a long breath. “No, it’s fine. I’ll get this coffee in me and I’ll be fine.”

“Great! Because it’s a long journey and it might get boring!”

Keith laughed, rolling his eyes.

****

Keith began to get curious as they drew closer to their destination, now that he was more awake. He was sat completely upright, looking around as they moved out of the city.

“Where _are_ we going?” he asked.

“It’s a surprise!” Lance said brightly.

“Really,” Keith said, shooting Lance an amused smile, “We’re doing this?”

“Yup. And you’re going to enjoy it.”

“Do I have a choice in this?” Keith chuckled.

“You do not,” Lance declared with a nod.

Keith rolled his eyes, but he was still smiling, which Lance counted as a win.

****

“The zoo?” Keith frowned slightly, looking up at the sign.

“Yup!” Lance replied brightly.

“Why?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side with a frown.

“Come on, just trust me okay?” Lance said with a grin.

“I do,” Keith sighed, “I just don’t get why, and why so early?”

“Because there’s something we need to see and it’s best to see it early!” Lance said, practically bouncing on his feet.

Grabbing Keith’s hand, Lance dragged him forwards to the ticket booth. Keith protested as Lance paid for both of their tickets, but quickly shut up when Lance stated it was his birthday (and there was no winning that argument). Map in hand, Lance tugged Keith into the zoo. He opened up the map, giving it a quick scan before setting off in what he hoped was the right direction.

Keith seemed to have given up on arguing or trying to find out what was going on, simply smiling as Lance pulled him along. Eventually they reached their destination, Lance tugged him up the bridge to lean over the barrier to look into the enclosure. He just hoped Keith would like it.

“Hippos!” Keith said brightly, letting out a light laugh.

“I hope they’re still your favourite animal. Probably should have checked before,” Lance trailed off into a mumble, scratching the back of his head.

“They are,” Keith said, smile slipping into something a little more dopey, “This is great, thanks.”

“Ah! We’ve not got to the best part yet!”

“There’s more?” Keith said, his head cocking to one side in an adorable way.

“Hopefully, ah, probably shouldn’t have said anything as I am relying on animals doing things,” Lance said, frowning.

“Oh, I’m excited now,” Keith said.

“No, no, don’t do that!” Lance fussed, “You’ll just—Oh! Oh! There!”

Lance pointed, yes, sweet relief. There, trotting after its mother, was a baby hippo.

Keith made a noise, a noise he didn’t think he’d ever heard Keith make, or would ever make again. He didn’t even know his voice could go that high.

“Did I do good?” Lance asked, “Was it worth it?”

Keith turned to him. “You did good. Still not sure why we had to come this early.”

“Any later and they go into the pool and you can’t see them that well,” Lance explained, “I actually looked into it before we came!”

Keith’s face was pink as he leaned over the barrier to get the best look possible. Lance had a feeling they wouldn’t be leaving this enclosure any time soon.

****

They did eventually leave the hippos, after the animals made their way into the water making it difficult to see them. Although he was a little hesitant at first, Keith very quickly got into looking at all the animals. Provided that easy smile remained on Keith’s face, Lance knew he was doing well.

They ate lunch in the picnic area, buying some burgers from the grill. Cake would have to be saved for that evening. Lance refused point blank to let Keith pay for anything; it was his birthday! No matter how much Keith protested that he didn’t do anything for Lance’s birthday, the point was moot, since they weren’t dating then. Keith glowered at him and Lance had a feeling there would be some paying-for-things wars in their future.

Eventually they ended up back at the hippo enclosure, stood close together with their fingers intertwined.

“Thanks, Lance,” Keith said quietly, “It’s been a really great day. I’ve had a nice time.”

“Good, I’m glad,” Lance replied, knocking their heads together.

“I’ll top it for your next birthday,” Keith declared.

Lance fought back an involuntary high-pitched noise. Keith saw them being together next year?

Instead he said, “No chance, even you’re A-game won’t be enough.”

“Bold words.” Keith smirked. “But I’m going to kick your ass at this.”

“Then I’ll just have to do better next year,” Lance stated.

“I look forward to it.” Keith smiled, pecking Lance lightly on the lips before turning and beginning to walk away. “Come on, it’s a bit of a drive back.”

“Yeah, I promised Shiro I’d get you home for your traditional birthday dinner,” Lance said, striding to stand beside him.

“Oh, maybe we can stay for a bit longer,” Keith said, stopping.

Lance laughed, “Come on, I know he has a cake Hunk baked.”

Keith tilted his head from side to side. “Alright, I’m convinced.”

****

Lance dropped Keith off at his and Shiro’s. After all he was not going to interrupt the reinstated family tradition. They could ‘celebrate’ in a different way tomorrow. It wasn’t until Lance got home and had stared his own dinner that he got a text message signifying Keith had received his present.

 **Keith:** What is this?

**Keith:** _[image sent]_

**Lance:** It’s your present!

 **Keith:** Wasn’t that the trip to the zoo?

 **Lance:** No! That was a birthday activity!

 **Keith:** You have got to be kidding me

 **Lance:** You don’t like it?

 **Keith:** I never said that

 **Lance:** Well then!

**Keith:** _[image sent]_

Lance couldn’t help but grin at the picture. There was Keith, reclined back on his bed, leaning against the huge plush hippo Lance had bought him. He was trying for an unimpressed look, but he couldn’t seem to fight the small smile on his face. Lance hadn’t actually intended on buying the giant plush for Keith, but he’d seen it on sale and couldn’t _not_ buy it. If it could make Keith smile, it was worth it.

****

“Remember when we used to dress up and go partying for Halloween?” Lance said, sinking deeper into the sofa cushions.

“Well, you can go do that if you want, but don’t expect me to come with,” Keith responded, dropping to sit beside Lance.

“Or anyone else,” Shay added.

“I wasn’t saying I wanted to, I was just making an observation,” Lance said.

Reaching over, Lance grabbed Keith and hauled him over. Keith didn’t even protest, crawling over to lay comfortably across Lance’s chest.

“It’s because we’re getting old,” Shiro said.

“Oh no! I’m becoming a lame old man!” Lance tossed his head back dramatically.

Keith reached up to pat Lance’s cheek, but he wasn’t really looking and sort of whacked around his lips and nose. Grabbing his hand, Lance pressed a kiss to his palm.

“But this way we get to throw popcorn at Shiro when he falls asleep!” Pidge pointed out brightly.

“Suppose that is a plus,” Lance said, squeezing Keith closer, “Also getting to snuggle with my boyfriend is nice.”

“That’s my favourite part,” Shay agreed brightly.

Lance couldn’t remember when they’d transitioned from dressing up and partying to movies at Allura’s. He wasn’t complaining though. It was nice. Leaning down, he pressed a kiss to Keith’s temple.

“Alright,” Allura said, walking in with a big bowl of popcorn and making her way over to the TV, “Addams Family first, then onto the scary stuff?”

“Sounds good,” Hunk said, chorused by general murmurs of agreement.

“You’re all cowards,” Pidge said.

“Don’t be such a grouch. It’s a good movie,” Lance scolded.

Pidge rolled her eyes, but sunk deeper into the bean bag. “I’m not saying it’s a bad movie. I’m just saying you should watch scary movies on Halloween!”

“And we will,” Allura soothed, “Right after this one, and its sequel.”

Pidge rolled her eyes, but had probably already worked out she couldn’t win this argument. Lance was very quickly distracted by Keith tilting his head up to press a kiss to the underside of Lance’s jaw. Leaning down, Lance rubbed their noses together. Yeah, this was pretty great.


	12. November

Lance’s phone chimed and he groaned. It was early. Far too early. Keith seemed to agree, whacking Lance on the chest with a soft growl.

“Shut that up.”

Reaching over, Lance grabbed his phone, charger slipping out. The time read far too early and the name on the screen was Hunk. Lance immediately felt his heart start to hammer. Hunk never called him this early. He knew Lance was either sleeping or at work.

“Hang on, I have to get this,” Lance said and Keith glowered at him, “It’s Hunk.”

Swinging his legs out of bed, Lance answered the phone as he pulled some boxers on. “Hold on a sec, man, I just need to get out of the bedroom.”

“ _No worries, I only wanted to ask you to come over,_ ” Hunk replied.

“Is something wrong?” Lance asked with a frown.

“ _No, I just, need to talk to you, privately, not over the phone.”_

“Alright you’re worrying me, man, what’s up?”

“ _Nothing, seriously, I just need to talk to you.”_

“Alright, I’ll be there in ten.”

Lance hung up, frowning at his phone.

“Hassid?” Keith slurred, sitting up and rubbing his eyes.

Lance was sorely tempted to jump back into bed and kiss Keith all over his stupid adorable face. But his best bro needed him. Lance had a duty.

“Hunk wants me to come over,” Lance said, beginning to scramble through his clothes, “He didn’t tell me what for so I’m a little worried.”

Keith frowned, shuffling forwards. “That’s… strange.”

“I know.” Lance frowned, pulling a shirt over his head. “You still have your key right?”

“Yeah.”

“Cool, you good to see yourself out?” Lance asked, “I hate to do this but…”

“Nah, it’s fine, don’t worry.” Keith smiled. “I’ll even feed your cats for you if you want.”

“You are the best!” Lance replied, running over to peck Keith on the lips.

Keith smirked. “I know, it’s the least I could do seeing as though you’re missing out on a morning quickie.”

Lance froze, turning to stare at Keith with his mouth open. “You’re mean. That’s so mean!”

Keith threw back his head and laughed. Man, Lance wanted to suck some bruises on that smooth surface.

“Go to Hunk’s,” Keith said, snapping Lance back to reality, “I’m sure we’ll find a way to make it up some other time.”

Lance nodded. “Alright, see you at some point?”

Keith smiled. “See you at some point.”

****

“Hey, man,” Lance shouted as he entered Hunk’s apartment, “What’s up?”

Hunk emerged from the kitchen, followed by the delicious smell of something baking.

“Okay, this is serious, you’re stress baking. What’s happening?” Lance asked, frowning deeply. He walked over, resting his hands on Hunk’s shoulder and shooting him a serious expression.

“I’m going to ask Shay to marry me,” Hunk said.

Lance’s jaw dropped, his brain took a moment to register, then process this new information. Finally, a brilliant smile spread over his face. “You’re going to ask Shay to marry you?”

Hunk nodded.

“That’s fantastic! Amazing! Why are you telling me and not asking her!?” Lance exclaimed, practically starting to bounce.

“Well, I actually need your help choosing the ring,” Hunk said, “I just… need to bounce some ideas off you.”

“Oh! Yeah! Of course I’ll help.” Lance grinned.

“Great. Shay’s at work all day,” Hunk explained, shuffling away to grab his jacket, “I wanted to give us as much time as possible, which is why I wanted you over this early.”

“It’s fine,” Lance sighed, “I mean, I missed out on a morning quickie, but I suppose I can forgive you.”

“Dude, TMI.”

Lance shrugged. “It’s okay. Keith said we can make it up later.”

“Oh man, please stop, I don’t need to know,” Hunk laughed, shaking his head.

****

Ring shopping was exhausting. There were so many factors to consider and so many rings to look at and Lance was starting to see shiny gems when he closed his eyes. It was frustrating, but the ring had to be perfect.

“Sorry, man,” Hunk said as they walked to the next jewellers, “I know this isn’t the most exciting thing in the world.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it,” Lance said, slapping his shoulder, “This is important. I’m glad you’re involving me.”

“Of course, man, and if she says yes, you’ll be my best man, right?” Hunk asked, twisting his fingers.

“Okay, one, she’s going to say yes. Shay is head over heels for you. Two, duh I’ll be your best man! Was that ever in question?” Lance said, grinning.

“Thanks, man,” Hunk said, crushing Lance in a hug.

The bell jingled as they entered the next store. It was a bit of an old fashioned one, but the rings were stunning. Lance knew what they were after: ideally something simple and practical, something without a diamond as the main gem, and preferably something in gold. Yeah, Lance knew just about what he was looking for, didn’t make actually finding it any easier.

Lance was just about to call it, say it was time to move on and try a different place…

“Lance,” Hunk said suddenly, “Come look at this.”

Lance wandered over, peering into the case at the ring Hunk was pointing out.

It was gold, a yellow topaz inset into it, surrounded by tiny diamonds. The ring was an elegant swooping shape, the gems small but sparkling beautifully, not sticking out very far. It was great for someone who wasn’t the biggest fan of diamonds, loved gold jewellery, and worked a lot with their hands. In short—

“It’s perfect,” Lance said, “Shay’s going to love it.”

“You think?” Hunk said, turning to Lance.

“I _know_ , man.” Lance smiled. “It’s fantastic.”

“Alright.” Hunk nodded. “Alright. Perfect.”

****

Lance was exhausted, but unbelievably happy. The ring they’d got was perfect, now he just had to wait for the engagement announcement before he could say anything. That was fine; Lance was surprisingly good at keeping secrets, better than most people gave him credit for.

Opening his door, Lance froze when the smell of food and the sound of someone in the kitchen drifted over.

“Hello?” he shouted, slipping off his shoes.

Keith peeked around the kitchen doorframe, shooting Lance a brilliant smile.

“Hey!” he said.

Lance scooped Blue up in his arms, walking over.

“Are you cooking?” Lance asked, tilting his head to one side.

“Yup,” Keith said, ducking back into the kitchen, “I got off early and seeing as though we were interrupted this morning, I don’t know, I just sort of… felt like it?”

“You just felt like it? Wow, nice.”

Keith laughed, “That’s all you can say, ‘nice?’”

“Yeah.” Lance smiled. “It is nice!”

“You know what, I’m going to take that as high praise,” Keith said, turning back to the stove, “So what was up with Hunk.”

“Ah,” Lance chided, wrapping his arms around Keith’s waist and resting his chin on Keith’s shoulder, “I can’t tell you, sorry, top secret, just between the two of us.”

“Oh, really?” Keith said, raising an eyebrow, “You’re really not going to tell me.”

“Nope! It is just between me and Hunk!”

Keith hummed, returning to whatever he was stirring in the pot. Lance looked over his shoulder, into the pot.

“Hey! It’s not eggs or beans. I’m proud of you!” Lance added brightly.

“Come on!” Keith complained angrily, “Shiro was exaggerating! I can cook more than beans and eggs!”

Lance chuckled, pressing a kiss to Keith’s cheek as he seethed. “You’re adorable.”

“Shut up,” Keith grumbled, his cheeks pink.

****

Lance was going to vomit, or collapse, or both. His mobile slipped out of his hand, bouncing on the living room rug.

“Lance?” Keith said, a concerned frown on his face, “Lance, what’s wrong?”

The two of them had been hanging out in Lance’s apartment, watching movies and just enjoying each other’s company. That had been interrupted by the phone call. _The_ phone call.

“Lance,” Keith said, standing up to walk over to him, taking his hands, “Seriously, what’s wrong?”

“I…” Lance said, swallowing, “I… oh my god… I—”

“Come on, sit down,” Keith said, pulling Lance over and sitting him down, “What’s going on?”

“I got the job,” Lance said weakly.

“You got…?”

“The job, my dream job,” Lance said, voice strained, “I’m going to be joining a research team catching and tagging sharks in the Pacific.”

Keith blinked, before a massive smile broke over his face.

“Lance! That’s amazing! Well done!” he cheered, squeezing Lance’s hands.

“I… oh my god!” Lance said, feeling tears starting to run down his face, “Oh my god!”

Keith laughed, pulling Lance into a tight hug. Lance’s face pressed into Keith’s shoulder, tears soaking into his shirt.

The two of them remained like that for a while, until Lance managed to get a grasp on the situation. His tears stopped, nothing unhindered joy filling his entire body.

“I’m so proud of you,” Keith said.

He moved Lance away from his shoulder, cupping his cheeks and smiling. Leaning forward, Keith pressed their lips together. Lance smiled into their kiss, wrapping his arms around Keith’s neck. He pulled away after a minute, keeping their foreheads pressed together.

“You’re going to be fantastic.”

Lance smiled brightly. “Thank you.”

****

It wasn’t until much later that Lance realised there was a slight problem. One that, once he realised it, made his stomach sink to his feet. He glanced down at Keith, pressed up against his side, curled in his arms.

“Hey, Keith,” Lance said, giving him a quick squeeze, “What does this mean for us?”

“Huh?” Keith grunted, looking up, “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Lance sighed, “I’m going to be away for six months in January and even after that I’m going to be very busy, what does that mean for us?”

Keith hummed, shifting away. Lance wanted to pull him back, tell him to forget it, they’ll sort it never, but they needed to have this talk.

“What do you want to do?” Keith asked, tilting his head to one side.

“I—I don’t want to break up,” Lance said, “I really like spending time with you. It’s comfortable. It makes me happy.”

“We won’t break up then.” Keith shrugged, like it was really that simple.

“But it’s six months, Keith. That’s a long time to be apart. And this relationship is so new…”

“So? We can manage, I mean, we were apart for two years and basically slipped back into our regular selves again. Besides, this time we’ll keep in touch. Assuming they don’t just lock you on that boat with no contact with the outside world. We’ve been friends for a long time, Lance. I think our relationship can survive some separation.”

Lance let out a long breath. “So, we see what happens?”

“We see what happens,” Keith confirmed, “But I’m sure it’ll all work out in the end. I got to date you, I must have some luck!”

“I’m the lucky one,” Lance countered, drawing Keith back into his arms.

“No, I am.”

“I am.”

“We’re not starting this argument again.”

“Ahh, you’re boring!”

“Come here,” Keith said, pulling him down into a kiss.

****

“Congratulations!” everyone shouted, making Lance beam.

Lance didn’t want a celebration party for getting his job—he’d rather have a going-away party but Allura insisted he have both—, but he couldn’t exactly stop them, or stop smiling.

“Thanks, guys! You really didn’t need to!” Lance said, practically bouncing on his feet.

“Well it’s not everyday someone lands their dream job!” Shiro said.

“I can’t believe you managed it!” Pidge cheered, punching his arm, “Well, you know what, I can, but it’s still fantastic.”

Hunk crushed him into a tight hug, squishing all the breath out of his body.

“I’m so proud of you!” Allura said, “And I’m going to miss you so much!”

“I’m not going away yet,” Lance laughed, “You’ve still got a couple more months of me yet!”

“Yeah, but, then you’ll be gone for six months! Who will I go to the spa with!” Allura lamented, crushing Lance in her own hug. Allura didn’t look it, but she was incredibly strong.

Lance wheezed out a laugh. “Take Pidge!” he managed to get out.

“No way in hell!” Pidge rebutted, “I don’t like people touching my feet!”

“You don’t have to get a pedicure,” Lance said, “Or any treatments really. You can just go to relax.”

Pidge grumbled, tilting her head from side to side.

“You could take Shay too!” Lance added.

“Oh yeah!” Shay said, “I’ve been wanting to get a manicure at some point!”

“It won’t be the same!” Allura wailed.

“Sorry, guys,” Lance said, “She loves you, really.”

“I know, but nobody can possibly live up to you,” Pidge said.

“I’m going to take that as a compliment!” Lance replied.

Pidge smiled. “It might have been one.”

“But anyway, I’m not going yet!” Lance smiled, patting Allura on the back.

“But we’re not going to be able to go before!” she said.

“I’m sure you’ll manage. Just like Shiro will survive for six months without my cooking!” Lance said.

“Oh no… how will I survive for six months on beans and eggs!?” Shiro exclaimed, horrified.

“I can cook more than that!” Keith shouted.

“Can confirm. He cooked for me the other day,” Lance said, holding a finger up.

“It won’t be the same,” Shiro sighed, “I’m going to miss you.”

“We all will,” Shay agreed.

“I love and will miss you guys too but I’m not even going yet!” Lance laughed, “Save this all for when I’m actually leaving!”

Lance was squashed into a tight hug by everyone, not that he could really complain.

****

“Lance! Lance, wake up!”

Lance groaned as his shoulder was shaken, rolling onto his back to look up at Keith.

“What?” he groaned.

“Look!” Keith said, loud and excited as he shoved his phone in Lance’s face.

There, on the screen, on Hunk’s Facebook page was a picture. Posted this morning, a picture of him and Shay, her hand up, ring on her finger. Lance smiled at the caption, ‘WE’RE ENGAGED!!!!!!!’

“They’re engaged!” Keith practically shouted, clapping his hands, “Isn’t that amazing!”

“I helped Hunk pick out the ring,” Lance blurted, thank god he’d been holding onto that for so long.

“Is that what you were doing that day? That’s what you couldn’t tell me?” Keith asked.

“Yes!” Lance gushed, “I’ve been holding onto this information for what feels like forever! I’m so glad he’s finally popped the question!”

“Ah, I’m so happy for them,” Keith said, resting his hand on his chest.

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith’s shoulders, pulling him into a kiss. Keith hummed, wrapping his arms around Lance’s waist.

“Come on, we need to call to congratulate them,” Lance said, pulling out his phone.

Keith leant against Lance’s side, tilting his head to rest on Lance’s shoulder. Quickly, he dialled Hunk before putting him on speakerphone.

“ _Hey, man!_ ” Hunk said brightly, “ _You’re on speaker with me and Shay!_ ”

“Well you’re on speaker with me and Keith!” Lance replied with a laugh.

“Congratulations, you guys!” Keith said.

“Yeah, congratulations!” Lance added with a laugh.

“ _Ah! Thank you, guys!”_ Shay replied.

“ _Yeah! Thank you so much,”_ Hunk added, “ _You still up for being my best man, Lance?”_

“Um, hell yes! You won’t be able to get rid of me now!” Lance said, bouncing a little.

“ _Perfect, man!”_ Hunk said.

“Alright, we’ll let you go to receive more congratulations,” Keith said.

“ _Great, thanks again,”_ Shay said, “ _We’ll call you later alright?”_

“Alright, bye!” Lance said.

“ _Bye!”_ Hunk replied.

Lance hung up, dropping his hands back into his lap, unable to lower his broad grin.

“Wow,” Keith said, “I’m just—I’m so happy for them!”

“Yeah, it’s fantastic, isn’t it?” Lance said, leaning back on his pillows.

“And about time!” Keith said, turning to press his nose into Lance’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Lance said, curling his arm tightly around Keith waist.

Keith seemed content to lay back in bed and cuddle and Lance was not going to argue with him. Curling his arms tightly around Keith, Lance tangled their legs together. Keith gave a contented hum, burying his face in Lance’s chest.

“You going back to sleep?” Lance asked quietly.

“I’m thinking about it,” Keith mumbled.

“Ahh, did all the excitement wear you out?” Lance taunted softly.

“Shut up and let me cuddle with my boyfriend,” Keith said, “You pain.”

“Ahhh, come on, kitten!” Lance grinned, leaning back to press kisses all over Keith’s face.

Keith laughed, whacking Lance’s chest gently. “God you’re annoying,” Keith sighed, but he had a bright smile on his face.

“And yet, you’re the one who’s dating me!”

“I know. What a fool I was.”

Smiling, Lance pressed their lips together. Keith hummed happily, before melting into it.


	13. December

“Urgh, disgusting,” Pidge said, pulling a face as the cheerful Christmas music sounded over the speakers.

“Come on, Pidge, it’s December,” Hunk said, “It’s finally time to possess some Christmas spirit!”

“Which I’d be fine with, if it didn’t start back in October,” Pidge sighed.

“Me think thou doth protest too much,” Lance said, grinning.

“What?” Pidge said, crossing her arms.

“I have it on good authority that you actually enjoy Christmas and are only acting like a Grinch to maintain your cool façade,” Lance said.

That earned him a very hard punch to the shoulder, one that made him say ‘ow’ seriously.

“Don’t ever say that about me again,” Pidge threatened.

“Oww!” Lance protested, rubbing his shoulder, “That was unnecessary!”

“It’s okay, Pidge, it’s only us, you can be your true Christmas-loving self,” Hunk said, resting a hand over his heart.

“I hate you both.”

“And yet you choose to hang out with us?” Lance said, tapping his chin.

“And I regret it every day,” Pidge sighed, “Besides, you two are much better at picking out Christmas presents, and I need backup.”

Lance slammed his fist into his open palm. “Ah, of course, I knew there was some sort of nefarious scheme behind taking us out!”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “You know what, I think I can do this with Hunk alone.”

“I don’t think you can,” Lance said, shaking his head, “You know he cracks under pressure and starts making terrible decisions.”

“He’s right,” Hunk said, nodding, “I do crumble under pressure.”

“We’re a package deal,” Lance added.

Pidge pinched the bridge of her nose with a groan. “Why am I friends with you losers?”

“Ahh, you love us really,” Lance said.

Pidge rolled her eyes, letting out a long sigh. “We’ll see how good your present picking is.”

****

“What are you guys doing?” Allura asked as she stepped into the living room.

Both Pidge and Keith hushed her, Lance was too focused on what he was doing to say anything.

“We’re trying to put chopsticks up Shiro’s nose,” Keith said, gesturing to the sleeping Shiro.

Allura shrugged, dropping down to sit on the sofa. “Well dinner will be served soon, so you might want to hurry up.”

“You can’t rush art,” Pidge said.

Lance, keeping his hand as steady as possible, very slowly pushed the chopstick towards Shiro’s nose. Shiro was a reasonably heavy sleeper, but if he made one wrong move it would certainly wake him up. That was part of the fun though.

Ever so gently, he pushed the chopstick into Shiro’s nostril. Releasing it, Lance slowly moved his hand away and finally let out the breath he was holding.

“Yes!” Pidge hissed.

Keith squeezed his shoulder.

“Alright, now the other one,” Pidge said, handing him the other chopstick.

Lance nodded, taking several deep breaths before he made his move.

The second chopstick slipped in and Lance threw up his hands in victory.

“Nice!” Pidge grinned.

“Well done!” Keith said.

“Impressive,” Allura laughed.

Shiro slept on, completely unaware.

They sat together on the sofa, watching some old Christmas movies. Occasionally one of them would look back at Shiro and giggle.

“Dinner time!” Hunk announced brightly, stepping into the living room, “Why does Shiro have chopsticks up his nose?”

Shiro jerked away with a snort, frowning and pulling the chopsticks out. “Alright, who did this?”

Allura, Keith, Pidge, and Lance all burst out into laughter.

As only Shiro and Keith were staying for Christmas, with everyone else going to visit family, they’d decided to have an early Christmas dinner. It was nice, all of them sitting together and enjoying themselves and smiling. It was fantastic.

****

“Okay,” Lance said, “I am putting my babies’ lives in your hands. Do not let me down.”

Keith shook his head, laughing slightly. “I will take very good care of them. I promise, okay?”

“Alright,” Lance said, taking and squeezing Keith’s hands slightly.

Suddenly, Keith pulled Lance forwards, wrapping his arms around him in a tight hug.

“Call me when you get there okay?” Keith said, voice muffled by Lance’s shoulder.

“Yeah, will do,” Lance said, burying his face in Keith’s hair.

They stood like on the street for far too long. Luckily it was incredibly early and no one was wandering the streets, apart from a few people who were crazy enough to think jogging at this time was a good idea.

“I’ll be back before you know it.” Lance smiled. “Bet you won’t even miss me.”

Keith didn’t reply, but seemed to tuck himself closer.

“I’ll see you after Christmas alright?” Lance said, stepping away, resting his hands on Keith’s shoulder.

“Yeah,” Keith said.

Lance quickly dipped his head, pressing a quick kiss to Keith’s lips, causing his cheeks to go pink.

“Promise, when I’m back you’ll want to get rid of me within a day,” he said.

Keith snorted, shaking his head before pressing a quick kiss to Lance’s nose. “See you soon,” he said quietly, “You should probably get going before traffic gets bad.”

“Yeah, see you soon,” Lance echoed, squeezing Keith’s hands.

Lance waved cheerily as he headed towards his car, Keith rolled his eyes but waved back. It made Lance smile.

****

“Uncle Lance!” two excited voices shouted from deep in the house.

Lance laughed, dropping his bags and opening his arms. Nadia and Sylvio hit him at almost full pelt, which was adorable when they were small but was now starting to get less adorable and more painful.

“Man, you guys have gotten big!” Lance laughed, “It’s been so long since I’ve seen you!”

“That’s because you never come to visit,” Marco said, putting Lance in a headlock.

Lance laughed, elbowing Marco in the ribs.

“Well some of us have lives and real jobs and stuff to do!”

Marco growled, ruffling Lance’s hair before shoving him away so he almost fell over. Lance laughed, before grunting as he was grabbed from behind.

“Hey, loser!” Rachel practically yelled in his ear, “You, having a life! Don’t make me laugh.”

“Oh—” Lance faltered as he remembered there were young kids around, “Naff off, Rach, bet my life is more exciting than yours.”

She scoffed. Lance smirked. He hadn’t actually told his family he’d got his dream job yet, as he was waiting to do it face-to-face. Lance was going to hold off for now though, at least until everyone was gathered.

“At least let him get into the house before you harass him,” Veronica said, leaning on the doorway to the kitchen, “Come on, guys, it’s common decency.”

Rachel released him, jabbing him in the ribs a couple of times before backing away.

Laughing, Lance carried on deeper into the house, greeting Luis and Lisa along with his parents and abuelita until he got the chance to take his stuff up into his room and breathe. It was good to be back.

It wasn’t until dinner when everyone was gathered around the dinner table that Lance decided to say something.

“Alright, I’ve got an announcement to make,” he began, pulling everyone’s attention onto him, “Starting next February I will be travelling the Pacific tagging sharks for a research study. I got my dream job!”

There was a beat of silence, before an explosion of noise. Everyone shouting excitedly and started congratulating him. His mama immediately starting to talk about preparing, what he would need, what he should buy, how was he going to keep in contact? His papa slapped him on the back, Veronica pulled him into a hug, at which point he was then passed around from the arms of family member to family member in equally tight and exuberant hugs. Lance smiled. _This_. This was nice.

****

Christmas was bonkers and hectic as all hell. Lance had almost forgotten the complete madness from last year. He was very quickly reminded of it when he was woken by excited kids screaming. Oh yeah, Lance was in for a treat.

Luckily after presents there was a break in the action, allowing Lance to escape upstairs.

 **Lance:** You have time to chat?

…

 **Keith:** Yeah, gimme a sec

…

 **Keith:** I’ll call you

Lance waited, video chat open on his laptop, until Keith’s name flashed up. Lance answered as quickly as he could.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS!” Lance shouted.

Keith flinched, before he burst into laughter.

“And merry Christmas to you too,” he said, a broad grin on his face.

“Sorry,” Lance said, “You have to shout in this house to be heard.”

“Really,” Keith said sarcastically, “I’m so surprised, so incredibly surprised, your family is all as loud as you are, wow, I’m shocked… completely shocked.”

“Shattap!” Lance said, “You know what I meant.”

“Yes, I know,” Keith said, shaking his head, “At least I know you’re enjoying yourself.”

“Yup!” Lance said brightly, “That I am! And how are you? How’s your Christmas? How are my girls?”

“It’s going great.” Keith smiled. “It’s nice to be celebrating with Shiro again. I think Krolia’s going to come over later, so that’s nice.”

“That’s good,” Lance said.

“And your girls are fine,” Keith continued, “They seem perfectly happy. I’m having to stay and cuddle them a lot though. I think they’re missing you.”

“Awh man! I miss them too!” Lance sighed, “And I miss you too I guess.”

Keith laughed again, shaking his head.

They chatted for a bit longer, about what they’d been doing and what was happening. But, eventually…

“I should probably say goodbye,” Keith said, “I need to get back into the kitchen before Shiro finds a way to burn dinner.”

“Alright, I need to call Allura anyway,” Lance said, “Talk to you… at some point, I don’t know when I’ll next be free.”

“Don’t worry about it. I’m sure I can cope without you.”

“Oh, are you sure? Can you really manage?”

“I’ll get through it,” Keith sighed.

“Bye,” Lance said with a grin.

“Goodbye,” Keith replied, before hanging up.

Still with a slight smile on his face, Lance picked up his mobile, dialling Allura’s number. He didn’t have very long before he’d be called back down to be with his family, but he had to do this one thing.

It rang a few timed before Allura picked up, she didn’t even get a chance to say anything before.

“MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY, PRINCESS!” Lance shouted, as per their yearly tradition.

Allura started laughing, he could picture the look on her face, her shaking her head.

“Right, sorry, I need to get back to my family, only really had time for that,” Lance said.

 _“That’s alright,”_ Allura said, _“I appreciate the sentiment, even if it was shouted directly in my ear.”_

“Ah, you know you love it!” Lance replied.

 _“And I will never admit that I do,”_ Allura sighed, _“Bye then.”_

“Bye!” Lance said brightly.

He was just in time, as a shout for him came from downstairs.

****

Lance sat on the porch swing, watching the sun steadily sink below the horizon. Lance buried his nose in the scarf wrapped around his neck, rocking the swing steadily.

“Hey, I brought you hot chocolate,” Veronica said, stepping out onto the porch.

“Ah, thanks,” Lance said, reaching out for the mug. Curling his hands around it, Lance hummed as he took a sip. “That is good,” he said, smiling.

“Duh,” Veronica said, settling herself next to Lance.

They sat together in silence for a bit, watching the sunset. It was peaceful, calming, Lance couldn’t help but melt into the soft cushions.

“God, I needed a minute,” Veronica sighed, “Like, I love everyone but they can be a bit much sometimes.”

“I know,” Lance sighed too, “I think it’s too quiet in my apartment and then I come here and it’s like, no, you know what, the quiet is nice.”

Veronica nodded. “And it’s going to get a whole lot noisier!”

“Oh no, Marco’s kid is going to be born while I’m away,” Lance groaned, “I didn’t think of that!”

“Eh,” Veronica said, “It’s not like you’ll miss anything, kid won’t remember never meeting you.”

“It’s not for the kid! It’s for me!” Lance protested.

“I think you’ll manage. Cuddle a shark or something.”

Lance snorted, taking another swig.

“How’s Keith?” Veronica asked.

“Keith is good, we’re good. We’re going to keep this thing going long-distance while I’m away. It’s only six months after all.”

“Cool.” Veronica smiled. “Honestly when you said you had an announcement, I thought you were going to come out to the family.”

“No…” Lance trailed off, “I’m not quite ready for that yet.”

“Yeah,” Veronica replied, “I get that.”

“Speaking of, how’s Acxa?”

“She’s good, I’m bringing her back to meet ma and pa after Christmas, when everyone’s gone home and she won’t be so overwhelmed.”

“That’s nice.”

Veronica nodded, tilting her head back. “She’s a lot more confident about it after meeting you.”

“Good, I’m glad.”

The two continued to chat for a while, about life, about Hunk getting engaged, about their future niece or nephew. That was until the two of them were shouted back into the house to play board games.

****

Lance groaned as his phone began to ring. What the hell? Everyone knew he’d driven home from his parent’s yesterday, so today was for sleeping and eating and basically bumming around.

“What?” Lance groaned, rubbing his eye.

“ _I’m letting myself in_ ,” Keith said, “ _So no panicking_.”

“Urgh, what?” Lance said.

“ _You don’t need to get up,_ ” Keith added, before hanging up.

Lance groaned, tossing his phone back on the nightstand.

The lock clicked and someone Lance could only assume was Keith made his way into Lance’s apartment. His bedroom door opened, Keith peeking around the doorway.

“Hey,” he said softly.

“What are you doing here?” Lance asked, sitting up a little.

“I’m going to make you breakfast,” Keith replied, revealing the carrier bag he was holding.

Lance’s heart gave an excited thump, followed by a warmth filling him.

“You don’t have to,” he said, sitting up properly.

Keith walked over, dropping the carrier bag and sitting himself down on Lance’s bed.

“No, but I want to,” he said, leaning forwards.

Keith pressed their lips together, pushing Lance back so he was laid back on his bed.

“You stay right there,” Keith said, “I’ll be right back.”

Lance laughed, holding his hands up. “Alright then.”

Keith smiled at him, before getting up. Both Red and Blue seemed to have a massive amount of interest in him, Lance chuckled.

“You might want to feed those two if you don’t want to be bothered by them!”

Keith huffed out a soft laugh, “Lazy!”

“You told me not to move,” Lance countered, “I am simply following orders!”

Keith snorted, flipping Lance off before vanishing from his bedroom. Lance settled himself back down in the cushions, his eyes following Red and Blue as they followed Keith, Blue already starting to meow pathetically. After all, she hadn’t been fed in years according to her.

****

Lance accidentally fell asleep while waiting for Keith to make his breakfast. What could he say? He was exhausted. Waking back up to a freshly cooked omelette was fantastic though.

“Hey look!” Lance said, “Eggs!”

“Do you want this breakfast or not?” Keith replied, “I swear, I will throw it away.”

“Nuuuu!” Lance said, making grabby hands, “Gimme!”

Keith laughed and rolled his eyes. “God you’re pathetic,” he sighed, clambering into bed beside Lance and handing over the plate.

Lance leant over, pressing a kiss to his cheek. “You _like_ me,” he said, “You know you doooo!”

“Eat your eggs,” Keith replied, grabbing the TV remote from the bedside table.

“I appreciate the eggs,” Lance said, “Thank you.”

Keith shook his head with a huff, crossing his legs.

Blue and Red hopped onto the bed, Red splaying herself across Keith’s leg while Blue tried to pilfer some of Lance’s food.

“How was home then?” Keith asked.

Lance smiled and began to tell Keith all about his trip home and about what was happening with his family. Keith hummed along, adding in a couple of stories of what he’d been doing with Shiro. Eventually, Lance fell silent, just looking at Keith with a sort of dopey look on his face.

“What?” Keith asked, flushing slightly.

“I’m glad to be back,” Lance said, “I missed you.”

Keith’s face somehow went even redder, he buried it in his hands. He mumbled something, but Lance couldn’t hear it past his hands.

“What was that?” Lance said, grabbing Keith’s wrist and pulling his hands away.

“I missed you too,” Keith replied, before resting his head on Lance’s shoulder.

Lance squealed in glee, before pressing kisses all over his face. Keith tried to fend it off, but it was hopeless. Luckily, Lance remembered his empty breakfast plate before anything tragic ended up happening. There would be no plate casualties today.


	14. New Years

Allura’s New Year’s parties were usually pretty big events; anyone who knew her wanted to be there. They’d sort of mellowed out after college, but were usually still pretty popular. Last year’s had been a quiet affair, after that shitshow of a year it was unsurprising. This year though, they were back in full swing. It wasn’t the same as it was in college, much more about standing around and talking than getting hammered and dancing. Lance was perfectly okay with that.

Lance flitted from group to group, catching up with as many people as possible. Some of them he hadn’t seen in years, it was nice. Even nicer was that after he’d exhausted talking to people, he could return to Keith, walking up behind him and sliding his arm around Keith’s waist.

“Hey,” Keith said, “You finally got tired of talking to everyone?”

“You gotta be friendly, Keith,” Lance said, “Some of these people haven’t seen you in years!”

“There’s probably a reason for that,” Keith grumbled, leaning his head on Lance’s shoulder.

“Aw, come on, you’ve got to be a little nice,” Lance said.

“I am being nice,” Keith stated flatly, “This is me, being nice.”

Lance snorted, pressing a kiss to Keith’s temple.

Everyone seemed to be in a brilliant mood. Hunk and Shay were stood together, arm-in-arm, smiling and talking happily. Pidge was standing with Matt and his girlfriend, who actually turned out to be a really nice woman (how _Matt_ managed to date her was a complete mystery). She was smiling and laughing along with them, her nervousness at hanging out with her brother’s girlfriend seeming to have vanished. Shiro and Allura were flitting around the room, smiling and laughing, thoroughly enjoying themselves. They also weren’t completely drunk.

Everyone crowded into the living room for the countdown, passing around champagne. Trying to get to anywhere was a nightmare, as there were just far too many people in the room, even with Allura’s massive living room. Lance tightened his arm around Keith’s waist, making sure he didn’t lose him in the crowd. Keith was flushed and laughing. God, he looked so good.

Ten… So last year wasn’t so bad…

Nine… Keith coming back turned out to be a good thing…

Eight… Pidge got along with Matt’s girlfriend…

Seven… Hunk was getting married…

Six… Allura seemed to have let her ex go…

Five… Shiro seemed much happier…

Four… Lance had Keith now and discovered something about himself…

Three… He had his dream job…

Two… Lance was pretty damn happy…

One… Yeah, last year had been pretty great….

“Happy New—!” Lance’s shout was cut off as Keith dragged him down to press a kiss to his lips.

Yeah, it looked like it was going to be a damn good year.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yeah, I was debating between posting this whole thing at once, or a chapter at a time...I went for all at once
> 
> I was also debating on whether to write some smut and up it to an E rating, but the way it was going it felt better keeping it a T, I might write some smut scenes for this later, but I haven't decided yet...
> 
> Anyway, if anyone's still here from when I first started posting, I don't know why you stuck around but thank you! For those reading it for the first time thanks for giving it a chance! I hope you all enjoyed it!
> 
> Comments and kudos are always appreciated, thank you for reading!


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